Takara Uchiha: The Last Female Uchiha
by Uzumaki Pride
Summary: This is a story about a girl who escaped on the day of the Uchiha massacre. She's the last female Uchiha and she has a very complicated past behind her. Follow her as she encounters exciting adventures and people that will make an impact on her life!
1. Intro

My name is Takara... Takara Uchiha. That's right, Uchiha. I wasn't there when the clan got wiped out... but I wish I

was. I rather be dead because everyone I loved had already gone before the clan got wiped out. Appearance doesn't

matter, but I would describe myself as rather plain. I have long, straight light brown hair, coal black eyes, and I don't

stand out. I'd prefer it that way actually. I wear a belt with the Uchiha crest on it to symbolize the little Uchiha pride

I have left in me. Oh well it's not like any of these things matter. I'm thirteen and this is where I start off.


	2. Chapter 1: The New Teams

I combed my hair and stuffed my headband in my pocket just in case they needed to "verify" if you were really a ninja. I clutched my sword tightly in my hands and strapped it to my back. When I walked into the academy, it was pretty roomy. The only people I saw there were Sasuke... who was glaring at... Naruto... Kiba who was with Akamaru... Shikamaru who was sleeping... Hinata who was shy and blushing as usual... and Shino obviously sulking for some reason. That was it. Just then I heard footsteps behind me and Lee and Neji appeared. Tenten came in the back door just now. I raised an eyebrow and walked to the seat at the far end of the corner where I liked it. I was daydreaming until I heard so much noise. I was irritated and I went to see what the racket was. My eyes widened when I saw Naruto and Sasuke _kissing! _Sakura was here and she was... I can't explain it... but I rubbed my eyes and I couldn't resist so I said,"Is this a gay party... because it looks like it." They pulled apart immediately and they started brushing the "taste" off their tongues. Just then, Iruka walked in and said,"Alright, since you all graduated I will put you in your three man cells consisting of two guys and one girl." I clenched my fists and mumbled," It's always the girl that's thought weak..." I heard Iruka said,"Team 7 is special so I will announce it first because this one has extra. So this team consists of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and... Takara Uchiha!" Everyone gasped when I was announced because I was always the odd one out. They're all okay with their Sasuke-kun being a survivor of the uchiha clan but no... not me. It's because I'm a girl and I was just "lucky." I clenched the edge of my desk and when he was done announcing everyone's teams, he said,"You will meet your sensei this afternoon. Good luck!" My knuckles were white and I stood up and mumbled,"Fine by me." And I stalked out of the room.

Sasuke's Point of View  
>Everyone gasped when Takara was announced in our group. I had a feeling she was angry to everyone's reaction. She was a uchiha too but I've never talked to her once. Never talked to her but I'm hoping to know her more. She's another uchiha survivor the <em>last <em>female uchiha. Everyone treats me like I'm royal and gives me attention, but they treat her like a piece of shit. Like she doesn't exist. At first I wanted to trade with her but...

Takara's Point of View  
>I sat at the bench near the village entrance. I bought lunch there and ate there because I was too lazy to go home. When it was time, I walked to the academy. I knew I was late but I wasn't. Our new sensei still wasn't there yet. As I walked in, Sasuke made eye contact with me and I think he wanted to talk to me but didn't think it was the right time. I went to the corner... again and waited. I know it might be kind of weird to always be in the corner but where else did I belong? I took out my ipod (too modern? eh ran out of unmodern technology) and stuck the earphones in my ears and turned on some music. I watched Naruto as he tried to play a prank on our sensei. I rolled my eyes and waited. A few minutes later someone came in, I'm assuming it's our sensei. Yeah, Naruto's prank worked on him and he started rolling over and laughing. Sasuke had an unimpressed expression on his face, Sakura started yelling at Naruto and me, I stayed there staring with a bored expression on my face. He said,"Sorry I'm late, I had to help an old lady with groceries on her way so..." I pulled the earphones out of my ear and rolled the wires around my ipod. I stuffed it in my front shirt pocket and I stood up. The sensei said,"Follow me, we will get to know each other soon." We followed him and he lead us to a place with stone steps where we sat on. He said,"Alright, everyone introduce yourselves starting with your name, you likes and dislikes, and your dream." Naruto said,"Why don't <em>you <em>go first sensei?" Our sensei sighed and said,"My name is Kakashi Hatake and the rest, you don't need to know. Now, why don't you go first blondie?" Naruto grinned and said,"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I love ramen! Especially with extra pork chops and dislikes, I don't really have much. But my dream is to become the greatest hokage ever! Believe it!" I smirked and thought, _You dream big Naruto... but I believe you can do it. _Kakashi said,"Alright, little young lady with the pink hair you go next." Sakura said,"My name is Sakura Haruno and I like a lot of things, but I especially like someone... my dream is to become a great kunoichi!" I rolled my eyes and mumbled,"I know who that someone is..." Kakashi said,"Boy in blue, your turn." Sasuke said,"My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I don't have much likes and a dream... well, that dream, I will make into reality. And that is to kill a certain someone. Kakashi didn't show any expression on his face and he looked to me and said,"Last but not least..." I said,"My name is Takara Uchiha. Yeah, I'm a survivor too, but so what? I don't have much likes and it's none of your business to know, and my dream, well it's to become the best kunoichi ever known so you guys won't look down on us girls anymore!" Now when I said that, Kakashi's expression changed to surprise. Kakashi said,"Okay, so tomorrow, you will meet me at the training grounds at 7 and don't eat breakfast!" Then he disappeared. I grunted and stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked away.

Hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 2 is next!


	3. Chapter 2: Conversation

I walked to the lake and sat by the edge. I didn't sit there for long until I felt a presence behind me. A voice said,"That sword's too big for you." I whirled around and saw Sasuke with a smug look on his face. I glared at him and asked,"What are you doing here?" He said,"Nothing really, I just usually come here a lot. May I join you?" I mumbled,"I guess..." Sasuke sat down next to me and he said,"Hmph, it's the first time I've had a conversation with you." I asked,"You don't remember?" He turned to me and asked,"Remember what?" I said,"This isn't the first time we've... talked. There was that time when I took you to shelter after the... incident." His eyes widened and he said,"That was you?!" I nodded and said,"It was hard because I wasn't that strong so I was half dragging you, but I was surprised that it actually happened. I thought I was alone... again." Sasuke looked down and asked,"How did you survive?" I said,"I wasn't there. It was that simple." Sasuke said,"Yeah, but where were you?" I turned away and said,"Somewhere..." Sasuke seemed curious so I said,"I have to go..." I got up and scurried back to the village. Instead of going back to my house, I took a sharp turn to the village cemetery. I made sure no one was following me when I walked in and found my brother's burial stone. I kneeled down next to it and put my hand on the stone. The cold surface of it made me shiver. I closed my eyes and the memories flooded back. What happened, and what I've done. I thought, _Big brother Kanae, I'm so sorry... _I felt the tears come and they trickled down my cheek. My brother was the one I was closest to, and the one I loved most. He took care of me no matter what, and he wouldn't let me get hurt... ever. He was seven years older than me, but to me it always felt like we were the same age because we can talk just about anything without it getting awkward. He trained me and that made me get as strong as ever. I whispered,"I will fulfill your wishes... and complete your goal. This I swear..." I got up and said,"I wish you were here to see the progress I'm making... I will never forget you..." I closed my eyes as he said his last words to me... "_Takara whatever you do, you have to keep on living. Don't let the name of the uchiha die out. Be the best kunoichi ever known, and be strong. Never give up..._" I turned and hurried home as I ate dinner and went to bed. When I woke up it was dead early. 3am in the morning. I sat up and changed out of my night clothes and got ready. I combed my hair and strapped my sword to my back. I remember Kakashi said not to eat but I'm up so early! What else will I do? I ate some salad and walked out into the breezy streets. I took in some fresh air and went to the lake. I sat there on the boardwalk and let my feet dangle. I put my sandals beside me so my feet could barely touch the water. I wasn't tall enough so my toes just barely touch the water. I was still a little drowsy but I didn't want to stay in bed. I thought it would be okay to sleep here so I lay on my back and closed my eyes.

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>Agh... I couldn't sleep. I was so irritated I changed and went outside. I sighed and thought about my past... and Itachi. I clenched my fists and decided to calm down at my favorite area in the leaf. The lake. I headed there but when I got there, somebody was already there. I squinted to see who it was and it was Takara. She was on the boardwalk... apparently sleeping. I thought, <em>What is she doing here?! <em>I walked over to her and I nudged her a bit. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up immediately. She asked,"What are you doing here?!" I said,"That was what I was about to ask you." She said,"Woke up early and didn't want to stay at home... so I came here." I said,"I couldn't sleep." She said,"Yesterday... you wanted to know about my past right?" I said,"Yeah..." She said,"Tell me first... is the guy you're planning to kill your brother?" I said,"Yes... I will never forgive him for killing our clan!"

Takara's Point of View  
>I clenched my fists and said,"Don't kill him. Every older brother or sister loves their younger sibling! I'm sure he was forced or something! Have you thought about why he let you live?" Sasuke growled,"Yeah, it's because he thinks I'm so desperate so he did!" I said,"I'm sure that's a lie... my brother lies to me to keep me from worrying. From knowing the truth that will hurt me even more. I'm sure that's what Itachi was doing." Sasuke asked,"Why do you even care?" I growled,"Because I don't want anyone else losing their big brothers when they don't want to! Just like what happened to me... I should've... you wouldn't understand..." I quickly got up and ran to the training fields. I muttered,"I'm so early... guess I'll warm up." I warmed up my body by using my taijutsu and knocking down trees, and I did chakra control by walking up trees and maintaining balance. I trained and took a break and by then, it was time. Naruto and Sakura came along with Sasuke. He kept staring at me but I looked away. About an HOUR later, Kakashi appeared and made up another stupid excuse. He said,"Alright, for this exercise you must take a bell from me." He held up to silver bells and Naruto shouted,"Easy!" Kakashi said,"There's only two which means uh.. since there's four... <em>two <em>of you will fail. Which means two of you won't have lunch. So since there's two people, the one that failed and didn't really try gets tied to the pole." I activated my sharingan and said,"This should be fun..." I took out a kunai and threw it at him. He dodged it and stepped back and fell in my trap. He tripped over the string and the ground below him fell down one level and he was surprised so he let go of the bells and I got one of them. I smirked in victory but someone grabbed the bells out of my hand and when I looked behind me, it was Kakashi! I looked to the Kakashi in my trap and it was a decoy! I narrowed my eyes and he smiled and said,"It's not that easy you know. But I'll admit, you _are_ smart. I reached for my sword but it wasn't there! My eyes widened and I said,"Oh my gosh... sensei, I need to go retrieve something!" Kakashi said,"No! We are starting the session!" I narrowed my eyes and I jumped and hid in the trees. Sakura and Sasuke did too but Naruto charged at Kakashi. I thought about helping him and it took me a while to consider my actions. Then, I jumped from my hiding spot and helped him out. When he was going to fall for the trap, I pulled him out of the way. I shouted,"Naruto! Don't fall for the traps... if we're going to do this, we have to work together. We can't all think we're very strong. We also have to consider the opponents abilities. So stay with me okay? I'm just hoping the other two will catch on to what we're doing... 

Chapter 3 next! Hope you like it so far!


	4. Chapter 3: Teamwork

I walked to the lake and sat by the edge. I didn't sit there for long until I felt a presence behind me. A voice said,"That sword's too big for you." I whirled around and saw Sasuke with a smug look on his face. I glared at him and asked,"What are you doing here?" He said,"Nothing really, I just usually come here a lot. May I join you?" I mumbled,"I guess..." Sasuke sat down next to me and he said,"Hmph, it's the first time I've had a conversation with you." I asked,"You don't remember?" He turned to me and asked,"Remember what?" I said,"This isn't the first time we've... talked. There was that time when I took you to shelter after the... incident." His eyes widened and he said,"That was you?!" I nodded and said,"It was hard because I wasn't that strong so I was half dragging you, but I was surprised that it actually happened. I thought I was alone... again." Sasuke looked down and asked,"How did you survive?" I said,"I wasn't there. It was that simple." Sasuke said,"Yeah, but where were you?" I turned away and said,"Somewhere..." Sasuke seemed curious so I said,"I have to go..." I got up and scurried back to the village. Instead of going back to my house, I took a sharp turn to the village cemetery. I made sure no one was following me when I walked in and found my brother's burial stone. I kneeled down next to it and put my hand on the stone. The cold surface of it made me shiver. I closed my eyes and the memories flooded back. What happened, and what I've done. I thought, _Big brother Kanae, I'm so sorry..._I felt the tears come and they trickled down my cheek. My brother was the one I was closest to, and the one I loved most. He took care of me no matter what, and he wouldn't let me get hurt... ever. He was seven years older than me, but to me it always felt like we were the same age because we can talk just about anything without it getting awkward. He trained me and that made me get as strong as ever. I whispered,"I will fulfill your wishes... and complete your goal. This I swear..." I got up and said,"I wish you were here to see the progress I'm making... I will never forget you..." I closed my eyes as he said his last words to me... "_Takara whatever you do, you have to keep on living. Don't let the name of the uchiha die out. Be the best kunoichi ever known, and be strong. Never give up..._" I turned and hurried home as I ate dinner and went to bed. When I woke up it was dead early. 3am in the morning. I sat up and changed out of my night clothes and got ready. I combed my hair and strapped my sword to my back. I remember Kakashi said not to eat but I'm up so early! What else will I do? I ate some salad and walked out into the breezy streets. I took in some fresh air and went to the lake. I sat there on the boardwalk and let my feet dangle. I put my sandals beside me so my feet could barely touch the water. I wasn't tall enough so my toes just barely touch the water. I was still a little drowsy but I didn't want to stay in bed. I thought it would be okay to sleep here so I lay on my back and closed my eyes.

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>Agh... I couldn't sleep. I was so irritated I changed and went outside. I sighed and thought about my past... and Itachi. I clenched my fists and decided to calm down at my favorite area in the leaf. The lake. I headed there but when I got there, somebody was already there. I squinted to see who it was and it was Takara. She was on the boardwalk... apparently sleeping. I thought, <em>What is she doing here?! <em>I walked over to her and I nudged her a bit. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up immediately. She asked,"What are you doing here?!" I said,"That was what I was about to ask you." She said,"Woke up early and didn't want to stay at home... so I came here." I said,"I couldn't sleep." She said,"Yesterday... you wanted to know about my past right?" I said,"Yeah..." She said,"Tell me first... is the guy you're planning to kill your brother?" I said,"Yes... I will never forgive him for killing our clan!"

Takara's Point of View  
>I clenched my fists and said,"Don't kill him. Every older brother or sister loves their younger sibling! I'm sure he was forced or something! Have you thought about why he let you live?" Sasuke growled,"Yeah, it's because he thinks I'm so desperate so he did!" I said,"I'm sure that's a lie... my brother lies to me to keep me from worrying. From knowing the truth that will hurt me even more. I'm sure that's what Itachi was doing." Sasuke asked,"Why do you even care?" I growled,"Because I don't want anyone else losing their big brothers when they don't want to! Just like what happened to me... I should've... you wouldn't understand..." I quickly got up and ran to the training fields. I muttered,"I'm so early... guess I'll warm up." I warmed up my body by using my taijutsu and knocking down trees, and I did chakra control by walking up trees and maintaining balance. I trained and took a break and by then, it was time. Naruto and Sakura came along with Sasuke. He kept staring at me but I looked away. About an HOUR later, Kakashi appeared and made up another stupid excuse. He said,"Alright, for this exercise you must take a bell from me." He held up to silver bells and Naruto shouted,"Easy!" Kakashi said,"There's only two which means uh.. since there's four... <em>two <em>of you will fail. Which means two of you won't have lunch. So since there's two people, the one that failed and didn't really try gets tied to the pole." I activated my sharingan and said,"This should be fun..." I took out a kunai and threw it at him. He dodged it and stepped back and fell in my trap. He tripped over the string and the ground below him fell down one level and he was surprised so he let go of the bells and I got one of them. I smirked in victory but someone grabbed the bells out of my hand and when I looked behind me, it was Kakashi! I looked to the Kakashi in my trap and it was a decoy! I narrowed my eyes and he smiled and said,"It's not that easy you know. But I'll admit, you _are_ smart. I reached for my sword but it wasn't there! My eyes widened and I said,"Oh my gosh... sensei, I need to go retrieve something!" Kakashi said,"No! We are starting the session!" I narrowed my eyes and I jumped and hid in the trees. Sakura and Sasuke did too but Naruto charged at Kakashi. I thought about helping him and it took me a while to consider my actions. Then, I jumped from my hiding spot and helped him out. When he was going to fall for the trap, I pulled him out of the way. I shouted,"Naruto! Don't fall for the traps... if we're going to do this, we have to work together. We can't all think we're very strong. We also have to consider the opponents abilities. So stay with me okay? I'm just hoping the other two will catch on to what we're doing...

Chapter 3 next! Hope you like it so far!

A long time ago, I had mastered one of my chakra natures... fire. My other nature was lightning but I was so frickin young. You can't expect that of me. I mean nobody else in my year even _knows_what the hell is a chakra nature. I'm still working to master that, but for now, I'm just going to use fire nature. I decided to use it as a genjutsu. I used the genjutsu on Kakashi, making him see everything burst into flames including us, and him. In reality, he froze right on the spot and I ran to him and snatched both bells from him. I threw one to Naruto and he clumsily caught it and he said in awe,"Unbelievable..." I released the genjutsu on Kakashi and said,"We win..." Kakashi looked at me in awe and I smirked. Sasuke and Sakura jumped down from the trees, and Sakura said,"Whoa..." Sasuke looked angry though. Kakashi said,"Well I guess it's settled then. Naruto and Takara get lunch, while you two get tied to a tree post!" Once we were there, Kakashi started yelling at us like crazy. He was yelling at mostly Sakura and Sasuke, but he said teamwork was important and I was the only one who got it so he was complimenting me. He let us had lunch and he specifically told us to not feed Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura moaned,"I'm so hungry..." Sasuke was cursing under his breath and I wasn't even hungry so I handed Sasuke my lunch and he was astonished. I said,"What are you waiting for? Take it!" He slowly took it, then he looked at me and asked,"Are you sure?" I nodded and said,"I'm not hungry." Naruto blushed and handed his lunch to Sakura and said,"Here you go Sakura-chan. I already ate some but I saved some for you." Sakura took it and started eating. Just then, there was a big poof and an angry Kakashi appeared. He shouted,"How dare you disobey me!" I narrowed my eyes and said,"Well they need to eat man! If we're on a mission and they're starving, then they'll die and they'll have no energy to fight if we're ambushed!" Kakashi smiled and said,"That's the whole point! You all pass!" I raised an eyebrow and asked,"So what's this whole fuss about?" Kakashi said,"It's too teach you all that teamwork is important. And Takara, you certainly pass." I beamed and said,"Awesome..." Kakashi said,"Well, you can all go now and I'll notify you when we have a mission!"

Sorry it's so short! Chapter 4 next


	5. Chapter 4: First Mission

I was about to leave until Sasuke grabbed my arm and demanded,"How did you know?!" I asked,"Know what?" Sasuke said,"How did you know you had to help Naruto?!" I said,"It's logical thinking, Sasuke. I thought you of all people would know." Sasuke growled,"I didn't. But even though you knew, how can you produce a genjutsu so strong to actually paralyze our sensei?! How?!" I shrugged and said,"Maybe I'm just better than you." Sasuke said,"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I know you are. So I want you to please train me." I said,"Train? I don't know if I can do that. But if you want to learn my techniques so badly? I suggest you observe me when I'm training, but I usually don't allow that so you'll have to wait until I'm in an extra good mood." Sasuke said,"One more question. Who taught you to get so good?" My sharingan automatically switched on when my whole face and expression darkened and I said,"My brother."

For the next few days, I continued training. One day, Kakashi told us to meet up for our first mission, and of course, he was late. We were supposed to guard a bridge builder. During the mission, Kakashi was teaching the team how to master chakra control and walk up things, and I was the first one to make it to the top. Everyone looked at me in awe and I started to get irritated. I said,"Stop looking at me like that!" They snapped out of it and I did a back flip and landed squarely on my feet. Sakura climbed up to the second tree branch, and that was it. Sasuke and Naruto kept competing, but they fell off. They kept going at it for the next couple of days, and while we were guarding the bridge builder, the trouble stirred up. Rouge ninjas of the mist came, and challenged us. Zabuza and Haku. Kakashi ordered me, Sasuke and Naruto to fight Haku while Sakura guards Tazuna the bridge builder, and he takes on Zabuza on his own. Haku used senbon needles and he can combine water nature and wind which makes ice. The senbon needles were like impossible to to dodge. I got stabbed with the senbon needles and it didn't exactly hurt, but it stung and it irritated me so bad. Naruto started charging at Haku and I rolled my eyes and jumped in front of him to stop him. I pulled him back and I started using a kunai to fend off Haku's needles, and that was when he started using his mirror jutsu. First he aimed then he made the needles go to Naruto. Sasuke surprisingly jumped in front of him to protect him, and all the needles hit him. He collapsed, and Naruto went haywire and turned into nine tails. I ran over to Sasuke to check his condition, and even though Naruto thought he was dead, he wasn't. He had a very faint heartbeat and pulse going on, so to help him out, I pulled out all the needles and wiped up the blood. Apparently Naruto didn't need my help and when I looked to Kakashi it appeared that he needed more help. I rushed over to his fight and he saw me and growled,"Takara, what are you doing here?!" I said,"Naruto's got the other fight. Trust me, I can help you." I switched my sharingan to the mangekyo and Kakashi didn't have time to be surprised. I used a very strong genjutsu on him and he was paralyzed immediately. Kakashi was about to kill him until Haku appeared out of nowhere and Kakashi killed him instead. My eyes widened, and Kakashi was surprised too. Kakashi shouted,"Takara, I've got this. Help the others!" I nodded and went to Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna." When Naruto told Sakura Sasuke was dead, she cried all over him and I never actually liked Sakura so I said,"Oh my god are you that idiotic? Sasuke's not dead! Check his pulse!" Sakura did as I said and she stopped crying but she shouted,"Oh Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke's eyes opened and I put my hands on my hips and said,"Welcome back Sasuke... we're pretty much done with the mission... Kakashi's got it taken care of." Once everything was taken care of, Naruto was the main hero and everything was done. We returned to the village, only to find out about the chunnin exams. While we were waiting for more news, we met three people from the sand village. I was perched on a tree taking a break when I heard all the commotion. The one with purple face paint was bullying Naruto and Konohamaru, and he acted like he was so tough. I was starting to get irritated, so I got a pebble and threw it at him hard. It hit him on the shoulders and he said,"Ow!" I said,"Stop acting like you're so tough! This is our village and I don't care if you're guests. Listen to us, or get the hell outta here!" Naruto and Sakura looked up at me with a gratifying look and I smirked. Sasuke appeared beside me and there was a breeze and a boy with bright red hair and a kanji on his forehead that read "love" stood there and said,"What are you two doing?" The one with purple face paint said,"We're just teaching these twerps a-" "Shut up, or I'll kill you." The one with red hair snapped. Apparently those two were frightened by him. We all jumped down from the tree and the introduced themselves. The one with purple face paint was Kankuro, the girl was Temari, and the red hair guy was Gaara. Gaara asked,"I want to know both of you're names..." He pointed to me and Sasuke. I said,"Takara Uchiha." Sasuke said,"Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara grunted and said,"Both uchiha's I see. I'll be looking forward to fight you two in the chunnin exams." And the three of them left.

Hope you all like this chapter! It kinda followed the real anime though... chapter 5 next!


	6. Chapter 5: Chunnin Exams

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>After Takara shooed me out of her house, she left me thinking big time. Her words were stuck in my head and it still was when I slept. The next day, I got up early for the chunnin exams. I packed everything I needed, and I set off. We went to the spot Kakashi told us to meet up and Naruto and Sakura were already there. When Kakashi arrived, he made up a lame excuse and when he noticed one of us was missing, Takara just popped out of nowhere and said,"I'm here." I had a feeling she was here a long time ago but she was hiding from me. She didn't even glance at me, and Kakashi said we were on our own once we entered the building. I decided not to question Takara as we entered to the room that was supposed to be the first part of our chunnin exams.<p>

**Takara's Point of View**  
>I was the first person to arrive at the meeting point, but I hid. Once Kakashi appeared, I came out and said,"I'm here." I didn't dare look at Sasuke and we entered the building that we were supposed to take our exam at. The first part was a written test. All the rules were explained and we were specifically told not to cheat. I thought, <em>Yeah right, if you don't think I'm gonna cheat, than you dont' know me at all! I'm a rebellious ninja, so I do whatever I want, whenever I want! <em>I activated my sharingan and quickly finished the questions and skipped the ones I weren't sure of. I scanned around the room and looked at the test papers. All of the answers were different and none were the same. I sighed and thought, _Whatever... _The proctor announced that the tenth question will be the hardest and everyone in their team has to agree to take it or else all three of their teammates fail. In my case, four. I knew I was ready, and I was. Everyone in my team was worried about Naruto, but he said,"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I will not back down! I will take the tenth question no matter what! Believe it!" The proctor smirked and I smiled. He said,"Alright, for the rest of you remaining in here, you all pass! This was a test to see if you were brave enough and it's also a test of teamwork!" Just then, someone crashed through the windows and shouted,"Anko Mitirashi here, and I'm the proctor for the second part of the exams, and I will lead you all to the forest of death!" I smirked and thought, _This should be challenging._

Chapter 6 next! 


	7. Chapter 6: The Forest of Death

I crossed my arms and said,"I'm ready." We followed that Anko lady to the gates in front of the forest of death, and she said,"From here on, you all will have to work as a team to survive this. I will hand each team a scroll, earth or heaven, and you will have to guard your scroll, and steal the other scroll that isn't your own kind to pass. The tower will be located at the end of the forest and you can't enter unless you have both! Understand?!" Everyone nodded and she started out handing the scrolls. We got an earth scroll, and we each started to head into the forest. Once we were in, we decided to take turns holding the scroll. Sasuke was to hold it first, then me, then Sakura, and Naruto last. Mostly because he was an imbecile but you get the point. We also came up with a password. It was a long one so Naruto was like, "What?!" I smirked and said,"Agh, Naruto..." He grinned sheepishly and said,"Hey you guys... do you mind if I um... take a piss behind the tree?" I sighed and said,"Go nuts." Once Naruto was out of sight, he came quickly back and I raised an eyebrow. He asked,"Hey, can I see the scroll?" Sasuke said,"What's the password?" He said it perfectly and Sasuke punched him in the face, hard. Sakura cried,"Sasuke!" I smirked and said,"Chill Sakura, that's a fake..." Sakura said,"What?" Sure enough, the faker turned to how he really looked and he stammered,"How did you find out?!" Sasuke smirked and said,"The real Naruto would say something like, 'What was the password again?' But obviously you knew it so you can't possibly be Naruto." Sakura said,"Sasuke, you're so smart!" Sasuke ignored her and I took out my sword and pointed it directly at him. I said,"Leave, or I will not hesitate to kill you." The faker nodded and scampered away. I sighed and put my sword back in my scabbard. As we traveled further, we started to get hungry so Sasuke went fishing and once he got three, he gave it to me and Sakura to cook. He went out to get more, but when Sakura couldn't make a fire, she shouted,"Sasuke, can you cook the fish with your fireball jutsu?" I said,"Hey, I have fire nature, I can do it!" Sakura said,"No! You'll burn it! Sasuke can cook it good!" I was enraged. I said,"Look, drama queen. I have mastered my fire nature at a very young age, and don't tell me what I'll do or don't! Sasuke's no better than me, and just saying he's good when he isn't is not going to make him like you any better fangirl!" What I said made Sakura boiling mad. I said,"We're in this together, so you're going to have to have faith in all of our abilities and not just Sasuke's!" Sakura knew I was right so she didn't say anything. Gently, I made a ball of fire appear from my fingertips and I gently singed the fishes so they would be just right. When Sasuke and Naruto came back to eat, they ate like slobs. I smirked and Naruto asked,"Who made this?! It's cooked perfectly!" Sasuke nodded and said,"For once, I agree with Naruto! Who made it?!" I smiled and said,"I did..." Sakura cursed under her breath and I ignored her. Just then, someone with a sound village headband appeared before us and said,"Excuse me, but I would like that scroll of yours." He was hideous. I stood up and said,"Well, if you think we're that stupid, than you're the one that is... why don't you hand over yours then?" The guy said,"Haha, you have a big mouth there girl." Naruto charged and attacked him, but he was too strong and he knocked him unconscious. Sasuke started attacking him too but he was actually pretty strong. I activated my sharingan and placed a genjutsu upon him, but he merely laughed and said,"So you are the mysterious and infamous uchiha survivor other than our little Sasuke..." I growled and said,"What are we to you, do you stalk us all the time?" The guy laughed and said,"My dear Takara, I assure you I did not. I just did some researching." The creep was starting to get on my nerves so I closed my eyes and when I reopened them, my eternal mangekyo sharingan was activated. When Sasuke saw it, he gasped and I thought, _Amaterasu! _Right as the black flames erupted from my eye and engulfed the guy, blood poured from it and it stung. My hand automatically went to cover it, and the guy was crying out in pain. But he stretched his neck and he shed his skin! I was totally creeped out and I cursed because it didn't kill him. My chakra was low, but the last thing I remembered doing was making the amaterasu surround us and whoever was going to enter without legal permission from us was going to get burnt to death. Only the four of us can step in or out of the circle, or the flames will rise. It took me years to master this techinque but I did, and after I did that, I collapsed and everything went black.

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>Once Takara make the black flames surround us, she passed out. I think she was trying to protect us from the guy, he announced that his name was Orochimaru, but he was already halfway in the protective barrier. He said,"She is way stronger than I thought! The power of her eyes are beyond her level! I must give her a parting gift!" He stretched his neck to her and bit her on the shoulder, leaving a cursemark of some kind. I shouted,"Takara!" Then, unexpectedly, he bit me and once he retracted, the cursemark started hurting like crazy, and I screamed out in pain. Sakura kept crying, "Sasuke! Sasuke, are you all right?!" When I couldn't take the pain any longer, everything went black and the last thing I heard was Sakura crying out my name in distress.<p>

Chapter 7 next! Hope you liked this chapter!


	8. Chapter 7: Fighting Alone

**Sakura's Point of View**  
>I cried,"Sasuke!" He was unconscious. I looked around me and I was completely helpless. Naruto was unconscious from being reckless, Sasuke was unconscious due to indispicable pain, and Takara was unconscious from protecting us. The black flames were still burning around us, and I just had to set up more traps. I crawled over to the black fire and threw a rock towards it. The flames ignited and it burned up to the clouds. I screamed and covered my eyes. Just then, three sound ninja came. I said,"Stay back!" I think they sensed something was surrounding us. They snickered and whispered to each other. The girl jumped up, and landed right next to me. I screamed, and she nodded to her teammates, signaling that it was safe. I thought, <em>Takara why didn't you think this through?! You forgot to block the air! <em>The girl smiled at me and said,"Hello, we would like to take your scroll." I shouted,"No!" She laughed and she grabbed my hair. I squirmed but she wouldn't let go. I clenched my fists and grabbed a kunai. Just then, I saw three shadows on the ground. I looked to the side, and Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were here. I cried,"Ino!" Ino smirked at me and said,"Don't worry Sakura, we're here to help you." I smiled and thought, _It's time for me to stop being helpless!_ I raised my kunai, and swiftly, I cut my hair and I got out of the girl's reach. Turns out her name was Rin, and Ino was shocked when I cut my hair. The sound ninja were all tough and we all had a hard time. Just then, I saw Sasuke was in front of me, and he looked really, really creepy. I gasped,"Sasuke..." Sasuke growled,"Sakura, who did this to you?!" He didn't wait for an answer, and he lunged at the three sound ninjas. He broke one's arms like it was nothing, and I couldn't take it anymore. I ran and put my arms around him and said,"Sasuke, please stop!" Just then, Sasuke's black marks receded and he fell to the ground. He said,"Agh... what..." I was relieved that he was okay.

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>I wasn't sure what just happened. I remembered that I felt unbelievable rage and anger, and I couldn't control myself. And now, I'm on the ground and the sound ninja were retreating. One said,"You're a strong one... fine we'll leave you alone.. just leave <em>us <em>alone." Sakura was still holding on to me, and Naruto was beginning to wake up. I was concerned about Takara. Her face was pale, and she wasn't moving at all. I crawled over to her and held her hand. I felt her pulse and it was faint. Naruto asked,"What happened?" I shook my head and said,"We have to get going... Takara needs medical treatment." Sakura and Naruto nodded, and we left the protective barrier by jumping up into the air and landing outside of it. I put Takara's arm around my shoulder and I lifted her slowly. She kind of slowed me down, but it was okay. We saw Kabuto Yakushi and he helped us out. Just then, some ninja came out and attacked us. I couldn't protect Takara and fight at the same time! I was in big trouble. Naruto shouted,"Sasuke what are you going to do with her?!" I shouted,"I don't know! I'm thinking!" I put her down lightly and used my body to cover her. It took us a while to defeat them and get going, but we finally reached the tower. As soon as I saw Iruka, I said,"Master Iruka, take her to the hospital, she's in bad shape!" Iruka nodded and took her from me. He teleported away and he was back after a while. Our next test was the stage where we spar against each other. Once Iruka left to meet other people, I grabbed Sakura's arm and hissed,"Sakura, tell no one about the cursemark!" Sakura whined,"Why, Sasuke Kakashi-sensei needs to know or else it'll consume you!" I said,"I can handle it. Just please don't tell Kakashi or Naruto or anyone else!" Sakura asked,"What about Takara?" I sighed and said,"She has one of her own. I'll tell her, but otherwise, don't tell anyone else!" She reluctantly nodded and I used my hand to cover my cursemark. It still burned and I was striving. Iruka lead us to the arena, and the proctor said,"Welcome to the third part of this year's chunnin exams, and now, let the fighting begin!"

**Up next, Chapter 8! **


	9. Chapter 8: The Fighting Begins

**Still in Sasuke's Point of View**

They told us to look at the board to see who would be fighting first. I watched people fight and it was my turn during the third fight. I was against a guy from the sound. Despite my cursemark and how it was hurting, I leapt down to the arena and when we were both standing in front of each other, the proctor said,"You may begin!" I leapt backwards and held out one hand to let him make his first move. I remembered my fight with Rock Lee and I turned on my sharingan. He charged at me, and I swiftly avoided his attacks. Just then, my cursemark took over and it erupted all over me. It was very, very painful and I held onto my shoulder and cursed under my breath. With my own sheer will, I forced it back and it took out a whole lot of energy out of me. That was enough time for my opponent because he leaped at me and tackled me down. He put his hand on my forehead and I felt weaker by the moment. I said,"Are you stealing my chakra?!" The guy said,"Sure am kid." I growled and did the technique. I tripped him from behind and kicked him in the face hard. I copied that technique but when I was finished, I ended up coughing up blood, but that didn't stop me. I jumped in front of him, and did my finishing move. I said,"Shishirendan!" After that, he was unconscious, but I was badly beaten up. Kakashi teleported next to me and whispered in my ear, "I know about the curse mark of yours, and I can suppress it. Just come with me now." I protested,"But I want to watch the others fight." Kakashi said firmly,"No, you will come with me now." I growled but I followed him.

**Kakashi's Point of View**  
>I saw Sasuke's curse mark, and I had to help him. I took him to the sealing chamber and I bit my thumb so there would be blood to make the suppressing ritual. When I was done preparing, I asked,"Are you ready?" He nodded and I did the sealing jutsu. He howled in pain, and he collapsed in the end. A voice behind me said,"He's a true avenger you know." I whirled around and saw Orochimaru. I growled,"Orochimaru!" I charged at him with the lightning blade but he dodged it. He said,"Kakashi Hatake, I just want to talk. That boy will come to me soon, and you know it. I can't wait." I was about to attack him again but he disappeared. I took Sasuke to the hospital right away and got the anbu to guard him. Which reminds me, that I still haven't heard from Takara yet. I went to check on her, and she was still unconscious. I wonder what made her like this. After that, I teleported to the arena and said,"Yo!" Sakura turned to me and said,"What do you mean yo, Kakashi sensei, how is Sasuke?" I said,'He's fine, but asleep." Sakura looked at me worriedly and I assured them that he would be fine. I watched Sakura's match with Ino and they both ended up unconscious, but Sakura has improved tremendously. Naruto's fight with Kiba was kind of... disturubing, considering that Naruto farted on him. After both their matches, I went to check on Sasuke and I saw that Kabuto has killed all the anbu black ops and he was going to kill Sasuke. I stopped him just in time, but he had escaped. I sighed and went to get stronger security. A few minutes later, Sasuke has awoken and I told him to go get Takara. I was sure she should be up by now.<p>

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>I woke up feeling groggy. I turned and saw Kakashi staring at me. I said,"What?" He said,"Go and get Takara. She should be up by now, and get ready while you're at it." I protested,"But she might not be-" "Just go. She's right next door." He interrupted. I got off the bed and went next door and saw her sipping a glass of water, lost in thought. When she sensed my presence, she turned to me and gave me a smile. Her smile is always warm and assuring, but it is also filled with sadness. She put her glass of water on the table next to her and asked,"So Sasuke, what did I miss?" I said,"Nothing much... but you have to tell me how did you.. y'know back there with the..." "I'll answer those questions later, but not now. I promise I'll answer all your questions later... but first you have to tell me what are we doing in the exam right now." I sighed and said,"We're just fighting each other for the win..." She asked,"Did you win your fight?" I nodded and she asked,"What about Naruto and Sakura?" I said,"I haven't seen their matches. I was unconscious." She didn't even bother to ask because Kakashi came in.<p>

**Takara's Point of View**  
>When I saw Kakashi came in, I asked,"Has my match come up yet?" Kakashi said,"I told them to put you last. I think you should get ready." I looked down and saw that I was wearing those hospital gowns. I saw my clothes and weapons on the table next to me, and I looked to them and said,"Um... may I?" Kakashi nodded and left the room. Sasuke stayed there staring at me but then he said,"Oh... right! Yeah..." He scurried out of the room to let me change. I sighed and quickly changed into my clothes. I reached for my sword but it wasn't there! I thought, <em>Oh no... I've lost it! I can't fight without it! I've forgot all about it! <em>I quickly got out of the hospital room and saw Sasuke waiting for me outside with something behind his back. I raised an eyebrow and asked,"What's that you got there?" He held it out and it was my sword! It was shiny and undamaged! I gasped,"Where did you find it?!" He said,"You left it there by the lake, so I decided to take care of it for you." Because I was so relieved, I hugged him and I felt him blush. I pulled away, cleared my throat and said,"Thanks, Sasuke. This sword means a lot to me." He nodded and said,"I noticed."Then, I ran off to the arena and saw Kakashi. He said,"Watch the board for your match." I watched the board and it said,"Uchiha Takara vs. Akimichi Choji" I smirked and said,"This should be fun."

Chapter 9 next! And yes... I did mix things up a bit


	10. Chapter 9: Takara vs Choji

I jumped down from the audience area and said,"Bring it on!" The proctor said,"You may begin!" I leaped backwards and stood on the wall. Choji used his expansion jutsu, and rolled up into a boulder. He raced at me, and I stood there, unmoving. Then, just at the right moment, I leapt to the other side and he crashed into the wall. He turned back to normal, and he held his head, dazed and fatigued. It was my chance, so I charged at him and punched him hard in the stomach. Then, I gave him an uppercut, and kicked him back into the wall. I heard Naruto shout,"Yeah! Show no mercy!" I chuckled, and when the dust cleared up, Choji was out cold. The proctor announced,"The winner is Takara Uchiha!" My teammates cheered and I smiled. I went to rejoin them and Naruto gave me a high five. Sakura just smiled at me and I guess she was okay with me for now. I saw Sasuke waiting for me in the shadows, and when I went to him, he smiled and said,"Good job." I said,"Thanks." He said,"Kakashi said that we have to follow him for some kind of special training. He says we have to leave now." I sighed, but I wasn't in any mood to complain so I just nodded. We met up with Kakashi at the main entrance, and he took us to an area not far from the village, but a wide-range dry area. He said,"Wait here." He teleported someplace else and that left me and Sasuke alone. He said,"So... about my questions..." I said,"I have the mangekyo sharingan and what I used was called the mangekyo sharingan and what I used was called the amaterasu which are inextinguishable flames taht burn anything in the line of sight." Sasuke was taken aback and he said,"Oh..." Then, he said,"I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, Takara... the thing is-" Just then, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and said,"Okay! Let's do some training!" I ignored him and asked, Sasuke,"What were you gonna say?" Sasuke looked a little glum and he said,"It's nothing." Kakashi said,"Alright Sasuke, I'm going to teach you the chidori, and Takara, since you've mastered control over your fire nature, you need a signature fire move and I'm assuming you don't have one. Am I correct?" I nodded and he said,"Okay, then I will help you create one." I asked,"I also have lightning nature, but I'm not good with it. Shouldn't we work on that?" Kakashi said,"We'll work on both." I felt my shoulder and something was bulging there. Sasuke saw it and asked,"How come it's not hurting you at all?" I shrugged and Kakashi said,"Yeah, that's what I'm wondering too." Since it wasn't hurting me, I decided to take control of it. I let the mark crawl up my body and when it was finished, I felt.. different. Sasuke and Kakashi looked at me with curiosity, and I made the curse mark recede. Sasuke asked,"How can you control it so easily?!" I said,"I really don't know..." Kakashi said,"Takara, you have more power than I imagined." I said,"That, I'm not sure of... but what I do know is that I have to train more." Sasuke asked,"Takara, you seem to have mastered your sharingan... or at least know how to use it more than I do. Can you please teach me?" I smirked and said,"I haven't completely mastered it... but yes I do know how to use it way more than you do." Sasuke said,"Alright I get it, stop rubbing it in my face! Just please teach me." I laughed and said,"Alright."


	11. Chapter 10: Unexpected Visitor

"No, you don't do it like that! Since your sharingan is still at it's low level, the first thing you have to do is learn how to read movements and chakra with it!" I said. Sasuke was trying his best, but he couldn't get the hang of it. I've been training him for an hour, but the third part to complete his sharingan ring was still not complete." He said,"How do you do it?!" I smirked and said,"Watch." I switched on my sharingan and said,"Come at me." Unexpectedly, he teleported behind me but I already read and anticipated his movements, so I whirled around, and grabbed his fist before it connected with my face. He stammered,"Wh-whoa..." I nodded and said,"Uh-huh... but of course, I think this trick is cheap. The things I could do with my eternal mangekyo sharingan are way more impressive." Sasuke grunted and said,"Yeah, I've seen." I said,"Okay, so keep working on that, and tell me when you've mastered it cause I have to do some training on my own." Kakashi said,"Takara, I'm going to work on Sasuke first... and then I will get to you so I want you to train by yourself first." I nodded and said,"No problem." I made little flames appear on each of my fingertips and I shot them out of the air, forming a little phoenix. It fascinated me and I thought about making it a signature move. I made my hands hot with fire chakra and with all my might, I shot out a grand phoenix. It made a cry and it was so loud almost everyone could hear it. Sasuke and Kakashi turned and look at me, and I was amazed at what I had created. It flew up into the air and dissolved which resulted in a fiery streaked sky. Sasuke's mouth was wide open, and I just kept staring at the sky. Finally, I said,"I had no idea how I just did that." Kakashi came over to me and said,"That was amazing. Now, you just need to know how to control it and turn it into an attack." Then, he went back to Sasuke and started working on him again, while he just left me there so I said,"What?! You just tell me that and you leave me. Geez, y'know what?! I'll work on this myself." I sighed and did the same thing I did before, but this time, it got weaker. I kept trying and trying until I got fed up and I built up all my chakra and released it all at once willing it to form a phoenix. A gigantic phoenix came out and it flew into the sky and shot two gigantic fireballs. The two fireballs landed in the ground in front of me, combining together and forming a fire vortex. The vortex kept spinning until I wanted it to stop. Sasuke stared at it instead of paying attention to Kakashi while Kakashi didn't pay attention at all. I said,"Whatever... I managed to kinda complete it without ANY OF YOUR HELP!" Kakashi continued to ignore me and I rolled my eyes. Just then, A red haired boy came out from behind the rocks and I said,"Gaara? That's you right?" Gaara said,"Takara... and Sasuke..." I said,"What do you want... I know you're a clone." Gaara ignored my question and turned to Sasuke. He said," You have eyes like mine... eyes itching to kill those who drove you into the torture called solitude..." Then he turned to me and said,"Takara you are slightly different. Your eyes show hate and resentment, but you won't kill for revenge unless you are sure. You are not afraid to kill, but you don't curse the world for this..." I raised an eyebrow in question but didn't say anything. Then, he turned his back and disappeared. Kakashi said,"We should go back in a while. Are you getting it Sasuke?" I watched as Sasuke used his left hand to grasp his right wrist and lightning started to buzz from his right hand. He started running at extreme speed, and he pierced the tree and it fell apart. I smiled and said,"Nice Sasuke, maybe you can teach me someday." Sasuke smirked and said,"Aha, never thought _I_would be teaching you but I would since you asked." I said,"Oh don't get cocky." Kakashi said,"Let's go back in two hours. I think they'll be expecting you both." We both nodded, and we continued our training, training like there was no tomorrow.

**Sorry this chapter was so short, I didn't have much ideas! ****  
><strong>Chapter 11 Next!<strong>**


	12. Chapter 11: Takara vs Gaara

After a few more hours of training, Kakashi declared that we needed to get back in the chunin exams. Sasuke and I agreed, so we teleported back. Once Sakura saw Sasuke, she screamed, "Sasuke- kun!" I rolled my eyes and shouted,"So am I up or what?!" I looked at the board, then to my opponent. I smirked and said,"Gaara... pleasure to fight you." Kakashi and Sasuke jumped up to the audience and I didn't bother to turn on my sharingan. I knew he was strong, but I'm saving up chakra. Gaara showed absolutely no emotion, and the proctor said,"Okay, you can begin!" Gaara made the first move and launched his sand at me. I used fire to form a shield around me and the sand scattered. I decided to make my move and I charged at Gaara with a fire fist. I dodged all the sand he launched at me, and when I got close, he protected himself with a giant ball of sand. I filled both my hands with fire and pressed my palms against his sand, and my hands turned bright red as I tried to melt his sand. Spikes started to come out of his giant sand shield and I ignored it as it pierced me. When I got my hands to the temperature that was hot enough to actually melt the sand, and it started to crack and turn into glass because when sand melts, it turns into glass. When it all melted, I punched through the glass, ignoring the shards of glass that cut into my knuckles. Gaara was definitely surprised, and I jumped him and put both of my hands on the sides of his head. I was going to overheat his brain so he would pass out. I started doing it, but when I was almost there, his face started cracking and I was stunned for a brief second. Unfortunately, that was all the time he needed to use his sand to push me off and start beating me up. I was slow, so he used the sand to cut me deeply. I cursed and charged my fists with fire again, this time aiming for his face. Sasuke shouted from the audience, "Use your sharingan!" I listened to him, and I was right to listen. I forgot that the sharingan can read movements, so I smirked and I dodged his sand attacks easily. I hit him every time, but then something went wrong in the audience. Gaara and I both stopped, and saw that Orochimaru was pretending to be the kazekage the whole time! Everyone was asleep under a genjutsu except for Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura who were desperately waking people up. Sasuke made eye contact with me which told me to go join him, and I did. Gaara had fled too and I was getting suspicious of him because he acted strangely during our fight. Kakashi explained the whole situation to us, and how the sand was in league with Orochimaru. I asked,"So what are we supposed to do?" Kakashi said,"Stop Gaara, and try to do as much as you can. But leave the rest to us jounin." We all nodded and we set out to find Gaara. Sasuke whispered in my ear, "If the fight had gone on any longer, I'm sure you would've won." I smirked and said,"Thanks." Sasuke asked,"Why didn't you use your sharingan in the first place?" I said,"Didn't want to waste energy... duh." Sasuke rolled his eyes and said,"You're too arrogant." I said,"Speak for yourself." Sasuke said,"Hmph..." and went ahead of me. I followed behind, and we were about to find out how difficult this "Grade A" mission is!

Chapter 12 Next!


	13. Chapter 12: Orochimaru's Attack

We were jumping through the trees when suddenly, someone stopped us. It was one of the sand siblings, the one with the puppets. Sasuke signaled me to go on ahead, but I stayed and said,"No, you go. I'll face this piece of shit." The puppet guy flinched when I said that and said,"We'll see who's the piece of shit." Sasuke said,"No, I'll fight him. If you insist on staying, then back me up." I sighed, and nodded. I asked,"Kankuro, right?" The puppet guy replied,"Yeah. Now let's fight." I smirked and Sasuke was already at his back, with the chidori charged in his hands. He jabbed it through his back, but it wasn't and he was actually inside his puppet thing. Just then, a bunch of bugs appeared next to be and when they cleared up, it revealed Shino. He said,"Go, I'll take care of him." Sasuke and I nodded, and we went forward. I was determined to fight because the fight between us wasn't over yet. When we finally caught up, Gaara was waiting for us. Sasuke said,"Stand back, Takara. I'll handle this." I said,"You think I'll stand back? Our fight wasn't even over yet!" Sasuke scowled, and charged at Gaara. I stood back a few feet and protected myself with flames. Instead of charging, I planned out a strategy. Then, I jumped to the tree closest to Gaara and touched it. It burst into flames and fell on him. He swiped it away with his sand, and Sasuke was fighting him ferociously. I called,"Sasuke! Come here!" Sasuke jumped over to me and I said,"On the count of three, make the biggest fireball you can make." "One... two... THREE!" We weaved the hand signs and said at the same time,"Fireball Jutsu!" We both generated humongous fireballs and the both hit Gaara. When the smoke cleared, we saw that he was in his shukaku form! I said,"He's a jinchuriki!" Sasuke said,"Apparently so!" Just then, Sasuke gasped and clutched his shoulder. Black marks went up to his face and I knew it was the cursemark. He went on his knees and I knelt beside him and asked,"Are you okay?" He said between breaths,"I'm... fine..." Just then, sand shurikens shot at us and I threw Sasuke's arm on my shoulder and carried him to safety. Gaara just kept attacking so I had to keep dodging. I set Sasuke against a tree and fended off all of Gaara's attacks. Then, I teleported behind him and pumped my fists with fire and hit him. I barely made a dent in his sand, and I gasped as he swiped my face and sent me crashing through the trees. I groaned and wiped the blood off my face. I tried to get up, but there were trees on top of my legs. Just then, Gaara said, "Now it's your turn, Sasuke Uchiha!" I shouted,"No!" Sasuke was completely helpless at the moment because he was stuck on top of a tree, unable to move because of his curse mark. He somehow moved because that wasn't where I put him, and now he's stuck. As fast as I could, I burnt all the trees to ash that's crushing my legs, but Gaara's sand claws were almost at Sasuke. I gasped, but suddenly, Sakura jumped in front of Sasuke and she got hit instead. Sand pinned her to a tree and started crushing her. She started screaming in pain, and suddenly, Naruto jumped out of nowhere and attacked Gaara. He shouted,"How dare you hurt Sakura-chan!" I jumped after him and attacked after he did. Naruto seemed to be really trying. so I'll let him attack more and I'll back him up. I lost track of time because I just fought continuously, and when Naruto started summoning and going all the way, I let him have it. I sighed and jumped to where Sakura was. She was getting crushed by a lot, and as much as I hate her, I can't just watch her die. Well, maybe I can... but I'll get in trouble :D I pressed my hands against the sand, and I felt it tightening by the second. I sighed, and put pressure onto the sand. Adding more heat by the second, I felt the sand melting, but this sand was stronger than the kind that I melted in the arena. I was sweating due to the effort, but finally, it melted to glass and I was about to break it when Sasuke said,"Takara, if you break it you might hurt her." I said,"What do you care? I thought you called her annoying... but anyways, it won't hurt her. At least she'll be free." I kicked the glass and it shattered, and I caught Sakura before she fell off. I lay her beside Sasuke and said,"I'm going to help Naruto again." When I started to go to where Naruto was, I saw that Gaara's sand was already crumbling, so I said,"Okay, never mind. He did it!" I couldn't see Naruto, so I started to head to where he supposedly was until Sasuke got up and said,"Let me come with you." I nodded and said,"Take Sakura." He nodded and put her arm around his shoulder, and lifted her up. I went to where the fight was and saw both Naruto and Gaara on the floor. I heard Naruto say,"I know how you feel. Back then, everyone hated me and I felt so lonely. I've went down the same path as you..." I saw that tears were flowing down Naruto cheeks as he was reminiscing, and I also knew how he felt. I saw Gaara's siblings come get him, and they stared at us while they took him. I said,"C'mon Naruto..." I put his arm around my shoulder and lifted him up. We went back to the village to learn what happened to Orochimaru. When we learned what happened, we were shocked.

**Aha... well, I didn't put much effort in this chapter. I'm so sorry!  
>I promise the next few chapters will be better! <strong>


	14. Chapter 13: Words of Wisdom

I can't believe what I just heard. The third hokage has died from protecting the village and using a special sealing jutsu to disable Orochimaru. We were told to attend the funeral right away, so we did. Naruto was feeling better so he could stand by himself, and Sakura just woke up. We weren't even dressed for the occasion, but we did mourn and feel sad. Attending his funeral took up half the day, listening to all the eulogies and everything. When everyone left, I stay around because I go visit my brother's grave. I kneel down and examine the tombstone. I read over the epitaph that I personally gave him. "_Strong and smart with a big heart._" It fits and doesn't sound bad even though I came up with it when I was nine. I'm the only person in Konoha who would care enough to visit his grave anymore. No one else would... it's not like anyone else knew him anyways. The third hokage knew him, but now he's dead. Itachi knew him, they were best friends, but Itachi doesn't have time to visit people's graves. I just... I wish I can go back in time and change everything. I brush my fingers along the stone and sigh before standing up. It's getting late and the sun is setting. I should be going back. I leave the cemetery and go home, eating a quick dinner before going outside for a walk. I take a stroll around the village, and observe everything that's happening around the village. The normal civilians are walking along the streets, and I doubt they knew that the hokage died. In a way, they're... lucky. They're protected by us shinobi, and they don't have worry about anything. Shinobi on the other hand, have tons of problems to worry about. I wouldn't want to trade lives with them because that would mean I become as weak as shit, but I wonder what kind of problems do they deal with and if it's worth it. I think about that for a while until I get back home and take a quick shower and change into clean clothes. I start walking to Sasuke's house to see how he's doing. I see the window open, so I just jump in from there. Sasuke's surprised to see me because I just leaped in when he's lying on his bed, tossing a shuriken up and down. He questions,  
>"What are you doing here?"<br>"Checking to see how you're doing." I answer.  
>"I'm fine..." He mumbles and lies on his side to face away from me.<br>I sit on the bed beside him and ask,"Okay, what's wrong?"  
>He sighs and says,"It's just... I felt useless when you and Naruto were fighting Gaara."<br>"It's not your fault. It's the curse mark." I say.  
>"But you're able to suppress it! I should be able to, too!" He protests.<br>I sigh and say,"Dude, you're taking this too seriously. Mine will probably hurt later on."  
>I clench my fist and concentrate on making a small fire that barely takes up two inches on my palm. I make it harder, and it turns solid. I unclench my fist and reveal the fire to him.<br>"If you care so much about being strong, keep this. It'll make you feel stronger, and motivate you to get stronger. But you have to put in your own effort, of course." I say and drop it into Sasuke's palm, and he holds it tight.  
>I stand up and start to leave, but Sasuke says,"Takara, your knuckles are bruised. I'll treat it for you."<br>"There's really no need to-" I start, but he's already getting his first-aid kit, so I sigh and sit on the bed again. He comes back and I say,"You don't have to help me. I can do it by myself."  
>"I know you can... but I want to." He replies, and I feel a light blush spread on my cheeks, and I can see that my blush makes him blush too. He puts a little alcohol on my bruise and it stings, so I flinch a little. Then, he wraps a bandage around it and says, "Done."<br>"You're not a doctor, but you sure act like one." I comment.  
>"No way." Sasuke says.<br>I smirk and say,"Anyway, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow!"  
>I jump out of his window and start to walk to a restaurant where I can eat dinner because it's getting late. I head over to my favorite restaurant where they serve the best curry chicken ever! I enter the restaurant, and the owner sees me. He says,<br>"Takara! What will it be? The usual?"  
>I nod and say,"Yup. I always go with the usual."<br>"Of course! It'll be ready in a moment." The owner replies, and I wait by the table.  
>After a few minutes, my meal is ready and I eat like a pig. I had no idea I was this hungry! When I finish, I thank the owner and start to walk home, but stop when I see a red headed boy on a rooftop, staring at the stars. That has to be Gaara... I jump to the roof and say,"Hey, Gaara."<br>He glares at me and growls,"What do you want?!"  
>"I just want to talk to you." I reply and sit beside him.<br>"You always seem lost, and Naruto confirmed that you were lonely. I'm guessing it's because of the demon inside you. Or it might be because you look scary, but I don't think you are."  
>"Are you here to insult me?!" Gaara growls.<br>I can feel is anger rising, so I say,"No. People shouldn't hate you because of your demon, they should only hate the demon, but not you. They should see you, as you."  
>"Where is this leading to?" Gaara asks.<br>"Looking at the kanji on your forehead, I'm guessing you want to feel love and happiness." I say.  
>"No one ever loved me..." Gaara says.<br>"Someone has to have loved you, or else you wouldn't have been born. It has to be your mother because she went through a lot of pain to give birth to you. I know my mother loved me, even though she died a while after having me. I remember that kind of love. A new kind of love was shown to me afterwards. Brotherly love. That's the love I remember most because my brother loved and cared for me a lot. So what I'm offering to you is that I can show you how that love felt. But you have to let me, and trust me." I explain.  
>Gaara looks at me suspiciously, but after a while, he says,"Fine."<br>"Close your eyes." I instruct.  
>"Why?" He asks.<br>"You'll be able to feel it better." I answer, and he reluctantly closes his eyes.  
>I place both hands at where his heart is supposed to be, and feel him getting ready to attack me if I do anything more.<br>"Relax. At first this will feel weird, but it'll feel better. Just trust me." I say.  
>I take a deep breath, and close my eyes. I think about how comfortable and warm I felt when my brother was around, and how he treated me, and how happy it made me. I let all those feelings flow through my hands, and into Gaara's heart. Physically it's like a transfer of heat energy, but it's more than that. It's the emotions and feelings that can also be felt through that. I open my eyes and remove my hands from Gaara. He opens his eyes and asks,<br>"Is that... how love feels like?!"  
>"Yeah, but like I said, there are different types of love. There's a difference when you're actually in love with someone, and they're in love with you. But I haven't felt that before." I answer.<br>Gaara puts his left hand on top of where his heart is, and breathes,"Thank you, Takara."  
>I smile at him and say,"No problem, you're not the first person I made feel better today."<br>"I'm also sorry for what I did to your village..." Gaara says.  
>"It's okay. I have to go now, I'll see you around!" I reply.<br>"I'm leaving tomorrow morning." Gaara says.  
>"Oh... then..." I say and place both my hands on the sides of his head and kiss him on the forehead where his kanji is. I let go after, shocked at what I just did, and say,"Don't think of yourself as a demon if other people do. Prove them wrong and show them who you really are."<br>I give him a smile before turning and jumping off into the darkness.


	15. Chapter 14: The Meeting

_Dang... it's early... _I shielded my eyes from the bright sun, even though it was just rising. My eyes fell upon the book on top of my covers, and I remembered that I was reading that for the rest of the night after I had lectured Gaara. I probably fell asleep during the process, and slept until now. I picked up the book, placed it on top of my dresser, and got dressed. Taking the book to the training grounds, I sat under a shady tree and picked up from where I left off last night. I was already close to the end, and these books are always so predictable, yet I still love reading them. I smiled when I saw that what I guessed was correct, and I heard a voice that said,"What's in the book that's so funny?" I looked up from the book to see Sasuke standing in front of me, his eyes looking down at the book. For a moment there, he looked so cute. Reminded me of how he looked back then. I examined his expression and it was full of curiosity. He looked at my face and asked,"May I read it?" I studied his expression some more, and I cracked a smile. I said,"Sure, just give it back to me when you're done." I handed him the book and he looked at me with confusion on his face. I asked,"What's wrong?" He said,"I didn't expect you'd just give it to me, I expected more of a verbal fight." I smirked and said,"Just read it... I'm going to train anyways." Sasuke stared at me, studying my expression, then finally said,"Oh.. okay." He took my place under the tree and opened the book to the beginning. I on the other hand, started training and threw punches at the tree on the other side. To make my training more fun, I set up a catapult on a tree that has a bunch of kunais tied on each end, and launched it. Quickly jumping in front of it, I dodged all the kunais and landed on my feet when I dodged the last kunai. Satisfied with my work, I cracked my knuckles and back flipped on to the tree behind me. I lay one hand on the tree and watched Sasuke as he read. His facial expressions changed from time to time, and some of his expressions just made me burst out laughing. His attention snapped to me, and he demanded,"What's so funny?!" I just shook my head to indicate nothing, and he just eyed me suspiciously, then continued reading. I wonder if he knows that he wasn't hiding any emotion at all. Just then, I saw Naruto running at us, so I jumped off the tree and asked,"What's up, Naruto?" Sasuke looked up from my book and stood up. Naruto said,"Kakashi wants us to meet at the park. Come with me!" Sasuke looked down at my book, probably memorizing the page number he was on, then handed the book back to me. I said,"It's okay, just keep it for now." Sasuke held the book and continued staring at me. I asked,"What?" He asked,"You're done with the book right?" I nodded. and he asked,"What happens at the end?" I smirked and said,"I'm not going to spoil it for you..." He scowled at me and I smiled. I said,"After you're done with that book, I have another book that you might like." He looked at me suspiciously and said,"Why are you suddenly shoving books at my face?" I said,"I'm not shoving books at your face literally. But for now, let's just stop talking about this and focus on the mission." We sped up our pace to catch up to Naruto, and we saw Sakura waiting at the park. Again, Kakashi wasn't there. I started throwing rocks across the pond due to boredum, and after a while, Kakashi appeared. He said,"Alright team, we are going to go on a mission in 2 days." Sakura asked,"Why are you late again?" Kakashi said,"Oh, there was a cat who was lost, so I guided it back home." I rolled my eyes because I knew that was an excuse and the reason why he was always late was because he was visiting his old friend's grave and copying him. I asked,"What's the mission? C, B, or A?" Kakashi smirked at me and said,"You're not gonna believe this, but we have another A rank mission." Sarcastically, I said,"Really..." Kakashi said,"We weren't supposed to get this mission, but the people who were suited for this mission are occupied right now, so they sent us in. Now, the mission will take place in about two days, and we have to set out to a volcano that's located near the Forest of Death. I will give you further notice on this, so as for now, see ya!" He disappeared in a poof, and I said,"Whatever... I'm in no mood to be happy about going on an A ranked mission right now." Sasuke asked,"Why? Did I upset you?" I smiled and said,"No, not you. It's something... personal." I shouldn't have said that, because right after, the look on Sasuke's face told me he was determined to find out what it is. I said,"You act like Naruto sometimes." Naruto looked to me when I said his name, and Sasuke was in disbelief. He said,"What?! I act like Naruto?!" I grinned and said,"Yup. You're both so stubborn and determined to find out something." He wanted to say more, but I shushed him, and teleported back to my house. I lay on my bed until I see a crow flying through my window. It had something clutched to its beak, and I could see it was no ordinary crow. It was Itachi Uchiha's. The crow dropped the note on my lap and flew out of my window. I opened up the note, and it said,

_ Takara, it's been awhile since we last saw each other. I made a promise to Kanae that I'd watch over you, and protect you. I don't think I'm doing a very good job. I want you to come see me tonight. Meet me outside the village at midnight. We'll talk more there._

_~Itachi_

I whispered to myself,"The only time you protected me was when you ordered me out of the village the night you killed the clan... but maybe that's not protecting..." I sighed and thought, _I miss my brother... if only I could see him one more time and tell him how much I appreciate him. I wonder if he's watching over me... _The day passed by fast, and soon, it was already midnight. I walked out of my house, and I bumped into someone. I said,"Hey watch it-" "Why don't you? You bumped into me." I looked up and I saw Sasuke. I said,"What are you doing up this late?!" Sasuke said,"Same thing I should ask you." I said,"I'm getting some fresh air. I can't sleep." Sasuke said,"If you're gonna go out, at least wear a jacket." I scoffed,"What do you care? I'm not cold anyways..." Sasuke smirked and said,"Here, take mine." He handed me his jacket and I raised an eyebrow. I said,"Um... thanks?" I put on the jacket and said,"Can you please like, stop stalking me? Because I want to be alone." Sasuke said,"Fine..." I said,"Thanks." I waited until he was out of sight, then I started to walk towards the exit/entrance of the village. I thought, _Why is he such a stalker?! And so weird?! God Itachi, I'm gonna have to talk to you about your brother and how you raised him! _I activated my sharingan once I was out of the village, and I scanned around the area. My gaze fell upon two bright red eyes. I smirked and said,"Hey, Itachi." Itachi stepped out of his hiding spot and said,"Hello, Takara." I asked,"So what do you want to talk about?" Itachi said,"Remember when I transplanted Kanae's eyes into your eye sockets?" I said,"Yeah... what about it?" Itachi said,"You know my plan already... so, I want you to transplant my eyes to Sasuke's when he kills me." I said,"Why would you do this? If Sasuke finds out the truth, he'll be living in guilt for the rest of his life!" Itachi said,"That's why he will never find out the truth." I said,"Look, you can't do this to your brother. I'll tell him if I have to!" Itachi said,"I may not be able to stop you, but if you really insist on telling him, not now. It's too early." I said,"I really don't think you called me here just to talk about your family matters." Itachi said,"Right, I'm here to talk about your family matters. But one more thing about my family... Sasuke likes you." I said,"Hmm... I kinda figured that out already. But I really don't want to fall in love. Besides, I wouldn't like a stalker. You have a weird brother." Itachi chuckled and said,"I think he's only like that around you." I shrugged and said,"So what about my family?" Itachi said,"Okay, so do you want to know what I think about who murdered your brother?" I said,"Who?!" Itachi said,"My guess would be... Madara Uchiha." I said,"Don't talk bullshit, he's long dead!" Itachi said,"No, he's the guy with the mask. I know it seems impossible, but it was he who would leave the village alone if I eradicated the Uchiha clan." I said,"Okay, fine I believe you. How can I find him and kick his ass?!" Itachi said,"That, you have to find out on your own. And I promise I'll protect you. I'll be there if you need me, but for now, our time is up. We will talk next time!" He disappeared in a flock of crows. I muttered,"So much for talk..." I started to walk back to my house, when I realized that I was still wearing Sasuke's jacket. I said to myself,"Well, don't feel like going home yet..." I jumped from rooftop to rooftop until I reached Sasuke's house, and I quietly jumped in through his kitchen window and dropped his jacket off on the couch. I thought, _Now I will go home and finally go to bed, and forget about the conversation I had tonight... when will my life be at least less complicated?!_


	16. Chapter 15: Rebellion

**Note on this story: I actually wrote this story a few years back, so I apologize if it seems really unorganized and somewhat bad, but as of right now I'm still writing it; just progressing really slowly because I rarely have the time to write anymore even when a bunch of my fics aren't finished yet even though I have the ideas, but I think starting with chapter 28 it gets a little better since it's more recent. So please, bear with me. Thanks!**

I didn't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, it was late afternoon. I dressed and went out the door of my house, and Sasuke just popped right in front of my face and said,"Kakashi wants us!" I stepped back a little and replied,"Ew?" Sasuke grabbed my wrist and said,"Not that way! Come on!" He dragged me to the same meeting place and Naruto and Sakura were there. I said,"Why do we even bother to come on time? We always know he's going to be late anyways!" Just then, Kakashi appeared and I said,"Forget the excuse. What did you call us for?" Kakashi said,"Oh, simple. The mission is canceled because they found more suitable ninjas for it." I asked,"What?! We're not 'suitable'? What's that supposed to mean?! I can take anything!" Kakashi said,"No complaints. The mission's canceled and that's it." I shouted,"I'll do what I want! You can't tell me what to do, and you can't stop me! Sensei or not!" Everyone was surprised my sudden lash out, and I said,"Whatever. So this involves volcanoes right? You think volcanoes are too tough for us? Well forget them, too tough for me?!" Naruto said,"Heyyy..." I held up a hand to shush him, and Kakashi said,"Takara that's enough. You're acting like a little kid! That's enough. We're not going on the mission and that's final." I muttered,"Whore..." And I knew he heard but he already disappeared in a poof of smoke. I growled and stomped towards the direction of my house. Naruto asked,"W-wait! Takara, where are you going?!" I said,"Where do you think?" Naruto asked,"Home?" I said,"Hmph... you're half right." Sasuke said,"Takara... you're not...?" I said,"You bet I am!" I went home right away, gathered everything I needed, and headed for the hokage mansion. I found an air vent, and I climbed in, finding the way to the hokage's office. Currently, there is no hokage but there are guards guarding it. But just from the outside. It's not that heavily guarded. When I went to the right spot, I saw two ANBU black ops guarding the office from the inside, so I generated a small fire that barely took up any space on my palm, and made sure smoke generated from it. Surely enough, they smelled it and they went outside to check things out. I removed the screws, took out the cover, and jumped down into the office. I searched the drawers to find the right scroll that contained our mission, and when I found it, I heard footsteps. I stuffed the scroll in my backpack, opened the window, and leapt out. I landed on the railing, and jumped off to the ground. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were waiting for me, and I ignored them and started walking out the main entrance. I stopped, took a look behind me and said,"Well, who's coming?" I felt some sight hesitation, then I heard Sasuke say,"I'm coming." Sakura said,"If Sasuke-kun's going, then I'm coming too!" Naruto said,"I can't let Sasuke take all the glory! You bet I'm coming!" I smirked and said,"Then it's settled." They followed me into the forest, and when I figured we were at a distance from the village, I took out the scroll from my backpack and opened it. Naruto said,"I never thought you would pull of something like this..." Sasuke said,"She can pull of anything like this!" I said,"Okay, this is all the information we need. There's even a map here. The replacements won't start until tomorrow, so we'll start today to get a head start. Better yet, we'll take a different route so they won't even know! Or, we could take the route they're taking, but block of the route as soon as we pass. So we'll be leaving debris after we pass." Sakura said,"You're totally evil! Maybe we shouldn't go on with this..." I snapped,"Nobody said you have to come! I could do this by myself! If you don't want to come, go back to the village!" Sakura was silenced right away, and I said,"Okay, so we are to go to this active volcano and see what's up because there's a village that lives near there who says that plants are taking over their village but it's coming from the volcano. So we'll start going now. No more objections right? Because I'm not turning back." I looked at the faces of my three teammates, and when I saw they were all determined to come with me now, I said,"Good. Let's go."


	17. Chapter 16: Sasuke's Jealousy

We traveled at lot, and I plan to travel more, but Sakura couldn't go on, so we had to stop. I swear, if Naruto wasn't in love with her, I would just leave her. I decide to make camp here for the night, and we set up pretty quickly, no thanks to Sakura. With a quick flick of my hand, a had a small fire going on with no smoke. I sit against a tree, and Naruto sits next to me. He says,"I realized we never really talk much..." I answer,"Well, what do you want to talk about?" Naruto beams, and I think he was happy to know that I'm willing to talk to him. I guess he thought I wouldn't talk to him. Naruto says,"Okay... well, what are we going to do tomorrow? That's when the real people are going to start the mission!" I say,"Well, we're going to do what we did today. Cause more destruction once we pass the route. So we just throw more paper bombs on the way so the trees will fall." Naruto nodded, and just then, Sasuke comes over and asks,"Naruto, what are you doing?" Naruto says,"Planning what we're doing tomorrow..." I ask,"Aren't you gonna read the book, Sasuke? Or did you not bring it?" Sasuke says,"I brought it..." I say,"Okay, hurry up and finish it." Sasuke grumbles and goes fumble through his backpack on the other side, and Naruto asks,"Out of curiosity, what do you like in a guy?" I raise an eyebrow and say,"Weird question, but I like guys who are calm, strong mentally and physically, have a nice and kind personality, maybe kinda like you, but not hyperactive... smart, caring, and last but not least, HOT." Naruto says,"Never mind... I don't understand these things..." I laugh, and Sasuke walks back to where we are. He says,"Whatcha talking about?" I say,"Stupid things Naruto doesn't understand..." Naruto asks,"Does that mean I'm stupid, or not stupid?" I say,"Both." I say,"Hey, I have an idea Sasuke! Why don't you go talk to your lover over there?" Sakura is observing us carefully, and she glares at me when she sees me. I glare back, and I say,"Or, I can beat her up. I mean, this is a mission we're not supposed to go on, and we're here, so why not break more rules?!" Naruto exclaims,"No!" I said,"Just kidding..." I say,"I'm going to check out the location okay? So you all have fun and try not to expose yourself while I'm gone!" I walk away, having paper bombs in my hands, setting traps just in case intruders try to pop in. In around 20 minutes, I'm all set, and I head back to the campsite. When I'm almost there, I hear commotion. It was from Naruto and Sasuke. I hide behind a tree to listen to their arguement, and I hear Naruto say, "Dude what are you talking about?!"

Sasuke says,"You were flirting with her huh?"  
>"No, we were just talking! Can't friends talk?!"<br>"Baka! Of course they can, but Takara doesn't talk to people like you!"  
>"What do you mean?! She's not yours, and she's not as snotty and mean as you!"<br>_Whoa... is Sasuke fighting for me?! Well Naruto is definitely right, I'm not his! But I know Sasuke is jealous. Hehe, time to take this as an advantage. _I come out from my hiding place and say,"Sasuke, shut your mouth. Naruto's right." Sasuke stares at me with a shocked expression and asks,"Y-you heard that?" I roll my eyes and say, "Anyone in the ten mile radius could've heard you guys!"  
>Sasuke still has a shocked expression on his face, and I say,<br>"Sasuke, chill out. Naruto and I don't have anything going on, and we're friends. Aren't we all? Wait, I'm gonna take that back.. Well, three of us are friends..."  
>Naruto moans,"I'm bored!"<br>I say,"Okay, how bout we do some training? First one up to the tallest tree up ahead wins!"  
>Naruto says,"Sounds good to me!"<br>Sasuke just nods in agreement, and I say,"Ready, set, go!"  
>We sprint to our desperation, but halfway, I notice a lot of dead bodies sprawled around the area. I slow down, and look around. When Sasuke and Naruto notices, that I've stopped, they stop too, and Sasuke asks, "Takara, what's wrong?"<br>I point to the bodies and say,"Look."  
>Naruto and Sasuke see them and they ask,"How did this happen?"<br>Before I can answer, something or someone, wraps around my neck, and starts choking me.


	18. Chapter 17: Island of Carnivorous Plants

Without wasting a second, my hands burn the something into ashes, and it drops dead to the ground. I kneel on the ground to examine it closer, and already I knew it wasn't a person, but it seemed like a plant. Sasuke and Naruto run over to me and ask if I'm okay. I nod, and rub my neck. Geez, what is up with that? I follow the trail of dead bodies and plants. Just then, I hear a loud, ear piercing shriek.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouts.  
>We run after Naruto as we go back to our campsite, and we see Sakura getting pulled away by a long vine plant. She keeps screaming, "SASUKE HELP ME!"<br>"Ugh... you idiot..." I mutter.  
>I grab onto Sakura's legs, but instead of burning the plant to ashes, I wink at Sasuke and Naruto and say,<br>"This way, we can get to the belly of the beast faster."  
>"Oh, I get where you're coming from!" Sasuke says.<br>"What? I don't get it!" Naruto says.  
>"Just grab on, both of you!" I say.<br>Sakura is still screaming, and many times I tell her to shut the fuck up, but she just wouldn't. I'm the closest to hear her screaming too. Our feet keep dragging on the dirt floor, and once we're out of that forest, I realize that our feet are dragging on the _water. _It's like we're water skiing! Oh, and I also notice that Sasuke's hands are around my waist. But oh well, here's not the situation to complain. Finally, the plant drags us to an island with an active volcano. Right when I notice the plant is taking us to a collective center, I quickly burn it and we drop to the floor. Dang that plant was long! I brush the dirt off myself and help the others up. Naruto looks around with curiosity and says,  
>"That was awesome!"<br>"Shut up idiot." Sasuke says.  
>"No, it actually was kind of fun. But now we have to be serious." I say to the both of them.<br>Sakura apparently still hasn't recovered from her shock yet, so she's silent while she follows us. No flirty comments from her, which was good. I can't stand her being loud. She's just too girly for me to not beat her up. We walk around the island, then suddenly, something snaps at me. I whip my arm away just before it clamps, and I say,  
>"Geez, is this place infested with carnivorous plants?!"<br>"We better be careful." Sasuke says.  
>I change direction and start walking towards the volcano, and what I found was actually an entrance to the volcano. Everyone was occupied with something else, so I smirk and say, "Hey everyone, guess what I found!" Everyone turns their attention to me, and I say, "Behold! The entrance to the secret volcano cave!"<p> 


	19. Chapter 18: Volcano

I don't know why, but I am feeling hyper. I did not eat breakfast or anything, yet still once I discovered this cave, I feel hyper. Hyper as in energetic, and stronger for some reason. I went in front and lead everyone through the narrow path with lava shooting out the sides, and Sakura and Naruto were whimpering and scared. Sasuke was just silent, but I could feel him tense whenever lava shoots out. We get to a bigger path that actually has no lava shooting out from the bottom of the pit, and everyone relaxes. I say,

"So our mission is to just kill all these plants to prevent deaths right?"  
>"Yeah, it pretty much is..." Sasuke says.<br>"Cool, piece of cake. But why a volcano? Wouldn't an active volcano with its lava burn the plants easily?"  
>"That's something that's weird about this whole thing. These plants... it's like they have a leader or something..."<br>The volcano seems to have its own path and it seems to be leading us up. I don't like being the leader because it's possible I'm leading everyone to a trap, but it already seems like it. Whatever the trap is, we can face it. Except Sakura... We come to a path where there are stairs leading up. I say,  
>"Somebody has inhabited this volcano." I state.<br>"Well thanks for telling us that, captain obvious." Sasuke says.  
>"Oh shut up Sasuke... I bet you wouldn't have known unless I told you." I say.<br>"Takara... what do you think is up there?" Naruto asks.  
>"Plants... lots and lots of carnivorous plants, and probably a plant lady... I think." I guess.<br>I lead the way up, and sure enough, I got swiped by a plant. The plant didn't have time to wrap itself firmly around me because I quickly made fire surround me and burned the plant to ashes. Unfortunately, the other three weren't fast enough and they get wrapped up tight. I go to help them, but a voice behind me says,  
>"No no... one more step fire girl and your friends will be squeezed to death."<br>I whirl around and see... oh god I was right! An old plant lady.  
>"Um... and what's keeping you from attacking me if I don't move?!" I answer.<br>The lady lets out a cackle. and I roll my eyes. Is she trying to be one of those traditional villains? I make up my mind and charge at her. Not the best thing to do, but I'm impulsive. I can't control that. Naruto tries to break free, but has no luck. The old lady just stands still staring at me skeptically as I charge at her with a kunai in my hand. Once I reach her and take a swipe, but she deflects it with a long thorn plant. We clash against each other, and our strength is evenly matched. I push forward harder, and the lady cringes back. But the tides are turned when she suddenly sidesteps and I lose my balance for a millisecond. It was enough for me to be on the opposite side and have my back close to the edge of the cliff. I curse at myself for being inattentive, and push back with all my might. I'm strong enough to hold her back, but her carnivorous plants snap at my feet, bite it, hiss at it, and suck on it. It is really disturbing, but I don't lose my balance this time. I continue to deflect her blows and try to strike back. Just then, one of her plants knock themselves against the unstable ground beneath me, and it starts crumbling! I try to step forward to avoid stepping on the crumbling ground around where I'm standing, but the lady takes advantage of my hesitation, knocks the kunai out of my hands, and pushes me! My feet slip, and I desperately try to get a grip on something, but there's nothing but air! I feel the heat of the boiling lava beneath me, and I get this panicked feeling as I fall to what must be a certain death!


	20. Chapter 19: The Phoenix Within

**Sasuke's Point of View**

I can barely process what had just happened. Did she really... is it even possible... she's...  
>"<em>TAKARA!<em>" I shout.  
>My mouth reacted faster than my mind processing. It can't be possible! She's even stronger than me! She's special, I mean if Naruto isn't dead, she can't be dead! This can't be happening! I... no! The plants bounding me burst to pieces because of the chidori I generated. I can feel the fire blazing within me, and I charge at the plant lady. My actions are getting the best of me. But I can't control it. The plant lady is caught off guard, and I pin her to the ground and start wrestling her. I am going to rip her throat out! I raise my hand, which is blazing with lightning, and I'm about to bring it down when suddenly a column of lava shoots up, and I am forced back. I use my arm to shield the bright, blinding lava, and I feel the immense heat as it splatters down upon us. Did that fucking plant lady cause this to prevent her death? Well if that's the fucking case...<br>I storm over as the lava steam start to part and clear, but I step back when I see what the lava has revealed. It's... unbelievable!

**Takara's Point of View**  
>No! I cannot die, I CANNOT DIE! As I fall at rapid speed, I generate all the heat and fire using all my chakra to try to counter the dangerously hot lava that is not so far below. I'm not gonna die without trying. I'm not dying without a fight! The heat from the lava starts to not bother me anymore as my temperature rises to meet it, and when I turn to look, I can see that I am a few feet from it. I close my eyes, and await.<p>

_Heart wrenching agony! _I feel every bit of myself getting consumed by the lava, but the fire inside me seems to rise too! I'm not giving in just yet! Surprisingly, the pain starts to fade, and I think I'm starting to fade as well. Is this the end? Am I really going to end like this? I think I lose consciousness for like, one minute but when I refocus again, I feel as good as new, despite me being in boiling lava. Or am I? It doesn't feel like it. I will myself to rise, and I feel myself shoot up. I'm... I'm alive! Now to give that old hag a piece of my mind!

**Sasuke's Point of View**  
>When all the steam from the lava parted, I see Takara all in one piece! She's fuming... literally. She glares at the plant lady and growls, "You tried to kill me!"<br>"Of course I tried to kill you! But the lava has seemed to give you more strength... you're... a phoenix!" The plant lady exclaims.  
>"Do I look like a bird to you? That title may fit, but I wouldn't let you get away from pushing me in <em>there<em>. I was told many times to respect my elders, but now that I've met you, it's never gonna happen you old hag!" Takara says.  
>Takara clenches her fist to her chest, then throws it out unclenched at the plant lady as if her hand was for aim. The lava shoots up from the volcano and hits the plant lady, and she dissolves in ash right away; not even having the time to cry out. Right after she turned to ash, the plants start to die, and we're free!<br>"Takara!" Naruto shouts and runs over to hug her.  
>Takara takes a step back and says,"Whoa there Naruto, you don't want to be touching me right now."<br>Takara warned Naruto too late because he was already on her, and he jumped back flinching and saying,  
>"Ow, ow, ow! It burns!"<br>Takara laughs and says,"I warned you... anyways, let's just go home. This was an... interesting mission."  
>She walks past me with Naruto, and she gave me a weird look that I can't really decipher. I can tell that when we get back, she wants to talk to me. I think... what just happened is troubling her, and she's gonna take a long time to think about it...<p> 


	21. Chapter 20: Wth is Wrong With Me

**Note: Okay, so I think at this point in the story, when I was writing it I have become more mature so it's more bearable and not **

**completely stupid. The format still isn't at its best yet, but I hope you like what I have here so far.**

"Oh my gosh, Takara that was amazing! We were like staring at where you fell thinking you were dead meat, and like whoosh! You come up uharmed and you kicked ass!" Naruto exclaims.

I can't help but smile a bit. That kid is easy to impress, but what I did actually, was kinda amazing. But it's unexplainable. How could I have survived something like that? Only an experiment could've survived something like that. Not someone who's normal. So.. am I an experiment?! Did I have some kind of lava repel inside of me? I mean, it's natural for me to be immune to regular fire burning heat, but we're talking about _lava_. The hottest substance in like... hmm let's say the entire planet! So the question is, what the hell is wrong with me?! I know that Naruto is impressed, but isn't he wondering if I'm superhuman or something? Or did he think that falling into a volcano and surviving was an uchiha thing?  
>"Takara, don't think so much about it. You're alive, and that's all that matters." Sasuke says.<br>Geez, was he reading my mind or something? I give him a small smile that says, 'Don't worry bout me.' So we traveled along and stopped when the moon came out. We're roughly about halfway until we reached the village. so we'll be back by tomorrow. I never thought this before, but I wanted to get back and lie back on my comfortable bed. After making the fire and eating with the rest of the team, I start throwing rocks into the fire to douse it. Of course, I can easily extinguish it with the snap of my fingers, but I'm just really bored and the thought that lingers in my head is distracting me. A lot. Just then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Sasuke, and he asks,  
>"Can I talk to you?"<br>"Uh... sure." I reply.  
>Naruto and Sakura are already asleep, but Sasuke takes me behind a tree anyways. Once we're there, I ask,<br>"So what's up?"  
>"What's up? I should be the one asking you that." Sasuke says.<br>"Nothing's up. Why would you think that anything is up?" I ask.  
>"Stop lying, I know that the whole surviving from falling into a volcano is bothering you."<br>"Yeah? Well what makes you think that?"  
>"Hm... well you were silent and troubled the whole way today, and you didn't answer us when we tried to talk to you."<br>"I didn't?"  
>"Nope... why'd you think we quit trying?"<br>I sigh, and lean against the tree. I guess telling him would get him off my case.  
>"Yeah, it's bothering me. But so what? What can you do? It's not like you can give me answers or anything."<br>"I can help you..."  
>"Sure you can..."<br>"I'm serious. You're neglecting all of us because of this. Do you think it helps to do that?"  
>"Huh... funny you say that because that's <em>exactly <em>what you do."  
>I can see Sasuke's patience wearing thin because his face is starting to look irritated.<br>"Look, just don't worry about me. It's my problem, I'll deal with it. I never asked any one of you to deal with my problems, and you don't have to ask me to deal with yours. Because I know you wouldn't want help when you kill Itachi, do you?" I say.  
>That got his attention. In fact, I think he's mad at me for bringing that up. Well, you're the one who wanted to talk, so I guess we're gonna have a long talk now.<br>"What do you know about him? I doubt you know _anything _since you weren't even there. Which brings me to another point. Why weren't you there?" Sasuke inquires.  
>"Well if you <em>must <em>know, I was mourning my brother at that time. " I answer.  
>"But you came back around the same time I did... and you didn't look sad at all."<br>"Well maybe it's because I was already an orphan, and I lost everyone I cared about long before you did!" I practically shouted.  
>I saw Naruto stir, and I lower my voice.<br>"Takara... I'm sorry." Sasuke whispers.  
>I shake my head and say,"It's alright... but I know a lot more than you think."<br>"You know? Then tell me... tell me please." Sasuke pleads.  
>I shake my head sadly and say,"I would if I could... but I'm not supposed to."<br>"Did I just hear you correctly? You're not _supposed _to? For all my life I thought you were a rebel! The toughest of the toughest! And now you're telling me, you're not _supposed _to?! Who are you and what have you done with the real Takara?!"  
>I glare at him and say,"You don't understand. It's not that I'm not supposed to, but I had to promise to keep the information to myself."<br>"Who'd you promise that was so important?"  
>"Someone I respect."<br>Sasuke was probably wondering, 'Who in the world would I respect? She hardly respects anyone!' Well, I respect my brother so he was probably thinking that. But I also respect Itachi. Of course, he didn't know that.  
>"Takara, please... I'm your friend. Please tell me you have like at least a little respect for me and just tell me something. Anything that would help me!" Sasuke pleads.<br>Well, I don't think Sasuke has ever pleaded before and he _is _my friend and teammate, so... I'll tell him something.  
>"Fine," I say and the light in his eyes brighten.<br>"Itachi's a _liar. _Don't believe in everything he does or says to you. It'll be hard to tell what he's lying about, and he does tell the truth sometimes, but don't believe everything." I state.  
>"Don't believe what?"<br>"Don't believe in his acts and his hatred."  
>"I don't understand, tell me more!"<br>I shake my head and walk back to the campsite. With a snap of my fingers, I put out the last of the fire, lie down on the patch of grass I made for a makeshift bed and close my eyes. But I didn't sleep.

"Woohoo! We're finally back home!" Naruto exclaims.  
>Ah... always the enthusiastic one. It's just a trait that I can never acquire. Especially since I still don't know how I survived that fall into the volcano. So... it's time for some research. Creepy plant lady mentioned something about a phoenix. So that's the first thing I'll look up in the library. Right after I make a quick stop at my house, I head over to the Konoha library, and look up phoenixes. I find a few books on them that are actually useful, and find out that it's supposed to be a legend. And the most useful piece of information that I got that might be related to my case, was that phoenixes are reborn immediately good as new, and as strong as steel when they burn to ash. So that makes sense... when I fell into the lava, I'm supposed to burn to ash then I was quickly reborn and good as new. But <em>how?! <em>And _why?!_


	22. Chapter 21: The Search for Answers

I speed walk on the streets of Konoha, not even bothering to jump from rooftop to rooftop. Just then, I take a deserted road and right as I'm about to turn into an alleyway, Sasuke steps out of the shadows and says,

"Going somewhere?"  
>"Stay out of my way." I warn.<br>"Takara, I want to help."  
>"I don't remember you being so warm and helpful. And I don't think you should start now."<br>"Takara, we're both uchihas. We should be helpful to each other since we're the last."  
>"I don't see you saying that to Itachi."<br>"Why do you always bring up Itachi?!"  
>I shrug and say, "I like contradicting people. Sorta my habit."<br>I push past him and start jogging towards my destination. When I hear Sasuke follow me, I curse under my breath and start running. I increase my speed and start to move like a blur. In no time, I'm at my destination. The old abandoned uchiha compound. I duck under the yellow tape and go for the place I snuck into years ago, which felt like lifetimes ago. With my nimble fingers, I pry open the rusted trapdoor and drop inside to the secret layer of the uchihas. Hopefully with my eyes, I can read something or find something useful about myself. Switching to my eternal mangekyo sharingan, I try to see in between the lines. Literally. Just then, I sense a presence.  
>"Quite the stalker, aren't you?" I say.<br>"No, actually I was planning to come here myself." Sasuke says while stepping out from the pillar.  
>"Your eyes... are not advanced enough to see what you want to see. And I can see everything here, but nothing that I don't know already. I need... more answers."<br>"I can come with you."  
>"No. This is my mission, and I'm doing this on my own. It's none of your business."<br>Despite my warnings, a few minutes after I walk out, he follows me. He's like a freakin dog! Just then, I saw a couple of senseis who I knew walking into the hospital. Sasuke and I exchange glances before following them in and into the room they all crowd into. When we walk in, we see Kakashi lying unconscious on the hospital bed and everyone crowding around him. Just then we hear Guy say,  
>"Itachi Uchiha did this?!"<br>Just then, I feel Sasuke tense next to me and run out the door. I facepalm myself and Guy says,  
>"Whoops," as everyone glares at him.<br>I run out after Sasuke and find him asking people probably about Itachi's whereabouts. He runs off and I quietly follow him, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Wait, when did I start turning into him and start stalking people?! Ugh... I will question myself later. Then I realize something. They're after Naruto! Duh, how can I be so stupid? I follow Sasuke to a hotel that Naruto's probably at with Jiraiya. While he goes to the reception desk, I use my own senses and try to sense some powerful lurking chakra. And... Bingo! A high wavering chakra, and a more secretive, but powerful chakra. Oh yeah, and Naruto's kyuubi chakra is also among them. Well, time to go check things out! I rush over to where the all powerful pool of chakra is radiating off of, and sure enough I see Itachi and Kisame looking down at poor, confused Naruto.  
>"Hey Itachi! Kisame! Hands off!" I exclaim.<br>Itachi, Kisame and Naruto all turn their heads toward me, and Kisame says,  
>"Oh.. a little girl."<br>Anger flares inside me when he said that because nobody, and I mean_nobody _calls me a little girl. Not Sasuke, not Naruto, not Kakashi, not even my brother! I clench my fists and say,  
>"You wanna go shark boy?!"<br>"Oh it'll be a pleasure. My Samehada is dying to eat up all your chakra." Kisame says.  
>He takes a step towards me, but Itachi holds out a hand to stop him.<br>"Kisame, you don't know what she's capable of. She can easily pin you down." Itachi says.  
>I smirk to myself. Oh Itachi, I'm glad you know what I'm capable of.<br>"What? Her?! I don't think so. She's so puny and... young. I sense she has a nice amount of chakra, but nothing compared to me." Kisame says.  
>"Yes, you have a lot more chakra than her, but she can easily tire you out. She's very intelligent. Besides, she's not the one we're after. Focus on Naruto." Itachi says.<br>Throughout this whole time, Naruto hasn't said a word. Then suddenly, Jiraiya pops out and says,  
>"Itachi Uchiha! You are not laying a finger, on Naruto!"<br>And right about the same time, someone comes raining in on the parade. Who? Well, Sasuke of course. Sasuke freezes as soon as he sees Itachi.  
>"Itachi... Uchiha!" Sasuke growls.<br>Oh brother...  
>"Itachi, who is this boy? He has the sharingan! I thought you wiped out the whole uchiha clan! And hmm... he looks like you too!" Kisame says.<br>Haha... I'm not turning my sharingan on anytime yet. Sasuke's just gonna just charge at him without thinking... he's gonna get hurt... Sasuke you better not... aw... you just had to. He just goes charging off with his little chidori, and Itachi easily just grabs his arm twists it and y'know evade it effortlessly. He cries out in pain, and I stand back watching while Jiraiya and Naruto try to interfere. Of course, Sasuke shouts,  
>"No! He's my opponent! Stay away!"<br>I sigh and watch as Sasuke gets beat up in every way. But then, he gets beat up a little too bad, and realize that Itachi is taking this a little too far. Just as he pins up to the wall and uses the infinite tsukyuomi on Sasuke, I run up to Itachi, flip him over and pin him down. Kisame's eyes widen in surprise, and so does Naruto's. I say,  
>"Leave him alone. You've done enough."<br>Then, as if I was threatening him, I lean over close to his ear and whisper,  
>"After you get Kisame to go off to do something once you get out of here, meet me outside. I need answers... about <em>me.<em>"  
>Then I pull back and say out loud,<br>"Got that?"  
>Just then, Jiraiya steps in and says,<br>"I'll take care of him."  
>I get off of Itachi and he starts to make a break for it with Kisame. Jiraiya makes this frog trap thing, but I knew it wasn't going to hold him. I walk over to Sasuke and check his condition. A few broken bones, and his mind is now really messed up. I sigh and think about what Itachi has done. Making Sasuke hate him more is not the answer. And beating him up like this, is kinda sad. But for once, I'm not sure if I should interfere. I'll have to wait... more. Just then, Jiraiya comes back empty handed and tells us that Itachi and Kisame escaped. No big surprise there. Naruto is really worried about Sasuke, but I assure him that I can fix this. I know the source, and the cure. But it'll take a while. As we walk outside, Guy is there waiting. He offers to take Sasuke back while Jiraiya and Naruto look for Tsunade. They tell me it's my choice who I want to go with. I say,<br>"I'll return to Konoha, see what I can do."  
>Once they start splitting paths, I quickly create a clone to follow Guy, and I race into the forest by myself. I wander around for a while, then start shouting,<br>"Itachi," "Itachi where are you?!"  
>I start wandering around some more, then I threaten,<br>"I swear, if you don't come out right now, I'm gonna burn down this whole forest!"  
>I hear a chuckle, then Itachi steps out from the shadows. I put my hands on my hips and say,<br>"Oh, look who decided to show up!"  
>Itachi says,"From what you said back there, you want answers about yourself. I'm guessing this relates to your powers?"<br>"Uh huh, in a way..." I start.  
>"Well... let's see what I can tell you."<br>I roll my eyes and say,"Phoenix. I'm a phoenix. Somewhat..."  
>Itachi's eyes widen and he says,"So it has taken course."<br>"Wait, what has taken course?"  
>"Well, you see..."<br>"Spit it out!"  
>Itachi sighs and says,"I thought your brother told you."<br>"He didn't tell me no shit! So Tell. Me. Now." I say strongly and firmly.  
>"You are infused with phoenix DNA because you weren't supposed to live."<br>"Huh?"  
>"When you were still in your mother's womb, the doctor determined that you wouldn't be able to be born because something went wrong and you were too weak to be born."<br>"Wait, too weak? What?"  
>"Takara, let me finish or else I won't explain anything to you."<br>I huff and give him a look that says, "Go on."  
>"Your mother refused to let go of you. She really wanted to give birth to you, so there was only one solution. The uchiha experimenters needed a test subject, and because of you and what your mother wanted, you would be the perfect subject to experiment on. Of course, she refused at first, but they told her it was the only way. And it was. They warned her of the side effects from the injection, and explained that if it goes wrong, your mother and you could both die." Itachi smirks, and I glare at him and demand,<br>"What?!"  
>He continues,"Your mother accepted because she was just so determined and stubborn. Like you. I see where you get it from now."<br>For some reason, I blush, but I motion for Itachi to continue.  
>"The injection was filled with phoenix DNA, and it was injected into your mother's womb, thus, into you. For weeks your mother suffered from pain, but it gradually declined, and when the doctor checked on you again, you were ready to be born! Phoenix DNA is very unstable and not everyone could withstand it. It's too powerful, and the fire will rage on no matter what. You can't put it out, and you can't turn back on it. A few years after you were born, your mother suffered terrible conditions and side effects."<br>I remember seeing my mother writhe in pain, and cry out. The images were horrible, and I couldn't interpret them back then. But now... it all makes sense.  
>"Wait... how come I'm not affected then?" I ask.<br>"Probably because it's definitely still in you, but it's still kinda stable. For now. I'm not even sure myself." Itachi says.  
>I nod and say,"Continue please."<br>"So, one day she couldn't take it anymore. She died. And your father blamed you for her death, and that's why he hated you so much. Your brother knew but didn't tell you because, well he never blamed you, and he thought it should be stable. And he was definitely very surprised when he saw your mastery of fire, that he consulted me about it."  
>"And you knew because he told you?"<br>"Yes. And you shouldn't worry about it. But how did you actually find out about yourself being phoenix related?"  
>"I fell into a volcano, and survived. So I was... reborn."<br>Itachi nods like that's the most normal thing in the world. I scowl at him.  
>"So am I... a phoenix?" I ask.<br>"No, you're not. You're still Takara, but the phoenix is inside you. It's your personality. Phoenixes are one of the toughest, most powerful creatures in the world. And it has rubbed off on you because you are very powerful. Your eyes have not reached it's fullest potential yet, but it's getting there. So having the phoenix in you, is really not a bad thing." Itachi finishes.  
>I shrug and say,"Thanks, Itachi. By the way, you beat up Sasuke pretty bad today."<br>Itachi coughs and says,"I need him to hate me more so he'll be stronger."  
>Suddenly, I get mad. Really mad. "It doesn't help that way! You're just gonna turn him into a revenge-driven creature of despair!" I shout.<br>Itachi sighs and says,"He needs to get stronger, Takara. His strength isn't even close to yours yet."  
>"Well duh, but... I'm a little too strong for him to be compared to."<br>Itachi rolls his eyes and says,"Really Takara, I'm serious."  
>I sigh and say,"Things just shouldn't be this way... can you at least tell me what to do to help him feel better though? At least help him recover right now?"<br>"Just get into his head and break the genjutsu. You can do it."  
>"Yeah... but once I do he's gonna be all, 'Gotta kill Itachi, gotta kill him!' And then he's gonna be like all crazy."<br>"Well, then you're the one to help me stabilize him."  
>"Yeah... like I can do that when I'm not even stable myself!"<br>Itachi flashes a smile at me and says,"You can do it. I trust you. After all, you are an uchiha, and kind of like my little sister."  
>My eyes widen, and he disappears into a flock of crows again. Well, it seems like I got the answers I wanted today, but now I have another job to do. Geez... stabilizing Sasuke when it comes to revenge is like trying to get a monkey to not eat bananas! Well, my life is never easy...<p> 


	23. Chapter 22: Sasuke's Rampage

I'm interested in my abilities. If I am some sort of phoenix, then doesn't that mean I can fly? Right... so where are my wings? By what means am I able to fly? I'm curious, but I'm not gonna try flying now. It takes me a while to get back to the village, and without anyone noticing, I switch places with my clone and release the clone jutsu. Of course when I walk into Sasuke's hospital room, Sakura is right there crying by his bedside. I roll my eyes and slowly walk over to her. Once she catches sight of me, she grabs my hands and pleads,  
>"Takara! You can help him right? You're an uchiha, you're strong, you can wake him up right? Please tell me you can! I'm begging you to help him!"<br>Ugh... talk about desperation. Well, at least she finally gave me a compliment and called me strong... but seriously. She didn't have to beg like this... I'm not some evil witch who'd just leave him suffering in a nightmare like that.  
>I nod, and her face fills with relief and she lets go of me. I motion for her to step back, and I kneel by Sasuke's side and turn on my eternal mangekyo sharingan. I place my right hand on top of Sasuke's forehead and close my eyes, using my own genjutsu to try to get in. The barrier inside his head is clouded and tough because of what Itachi did already, but I manage to get in. I enter Sasuke's subconscious level and see him suffering the uchiha massacre scene when his parents were killed. He's trapped in a corner, watching helplessly and he catches sight of me. From his facial expression, I think he's probably trying to figure out if I came from outside, or if I was part of the tsukyuomi. I simply smile at him, do a quick hand sign, and release the jutsu. Then, everything turns crisp white and I open my eyes. I switch off my sharingan and remove my hand from Sasuke's forehead. His eyes open, and Sakura just runs up, pushes me out of the way, and starts crying over him. Ugh she's so fucking desperate and useless. And not even a thank you! I sigh and lean on the wall next to the window. Sasuke stares at me with a look I cannot interpret. Guilt? Thankfulness? Remorse? He gently peels himself away from Sakura and says,<br>"Thank you, Takara."  
>I nod and watch him closely. No doubt he'd be thinking about Itachi right now... and revenge. Too bad I'm not a mind reader, but I am positive he is thinking about three things right now. Itachi, power, and revenge. And my job is to stabilize him so he won't go haywire? Easier said than done, Itachi. I kneel next to him and say,<br>"Hey, you feeling any better?"  
>Sasuke nods and says,"Yeah, thanks to you."<br>What a lie... his eyes reveal everything to me now. In his mind, he's probably saying, "I'm gonna kill you Itachi, and I will do anything for the power to do so!" Yeah... something like that. So what am I supposed to say? I was never a person who's good at talking. Hmm... what kind of conversation should I start off with? Something like...  
>"So how are you?"<br>Oh god... when did I become so corny? I'm given a mission where I'm supposed to kill, and I do it flawlessly and effortlessly. Give me a mission where I'm required to talk and calm a person down? I have to use a lot of thinking and effort and still, the job is not done.  
>Sasuke raises an eyebrow, knowing that I would never say something like that. He takes a sip of water he got and he says,<br>"Fine... how bout you...?"  
>"What do you think? You're the one who's bedridden." I answer.<br>Sasuke smirks and says,"Oh, for a second there, I thought you weren't you."  
>Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about myself...<br>"So how did you... wake me up?" Sasuke asks.  
>"Oh I just used my sharingan and did another genjutsu so I could get into your head and then release you from it." I answer.<br>"I see... do you think you can help me train now?"  
>"Why now? You have broken bones that still haven't healed yet."<br>"So? I want to get stronger."  
>Great... now he's getting difficult.<br>"So? We all want things. But this is life, so we don't always get what we want." I say.  
>Okay... maybe that was a little mean, but it's true. And he can't always be so stubborn and y'know... naive. Suddenly, he gets out of bed and gets all in my face.<br>"Who made you the boss of me?" He growls.  
>I give him a death glare and answer, "Believe me, I don't want to give a damn about you. So be grateful that I am right now, and get your ass back on that bed!"<br>The tone I gave him was quiet, but it sounded really deadly. Even to myself. Feeling defeated, he climbs back into the bed and I hear Sakura let out a sigh of relief. I forgot she was even there. I smirk to myself, thinking that if we started fighting she wouldn't be able to do anything and she'll just cry.  
>"Fine, if I can't fight you, then I'll just settle for Naruto." Sasuke says.<br>As if on cue, Naruto storms in suddenly and his eyes widen when he sees Sasuke awake. His gaze flickers from Sasuke to me, then he grins as if he understood that I was the one who helped him. He jumps up and exclaims,  
>"Yeah! Sasuke's awake!"<br>Just then, Tsunade walks in, takes a quick glance at all of us, then says,"I guess my work isn't needed here then."  
>She smiles at all of us, then walks out. Naruto and Sakura both hug Sasuke at the same time while I stand and watch. Naruto suddenly comes over and hugs <em>me<em>. And when I'm hugged, I'm like an unbending statue. So cool, we're all happy right?  
>"Naruto... fight me!" Sasuke demands.<br>Oh boy... here we go again.  
>"What?" Naruto asks, unsure of what Sasuke really means.<br>"You heard me... fight me, now!" Sasuke demands again.  
>At first I thought Naruto would say something like, 'No Sasuke, you need to rest. You still got like a bunch of broken bones!' But instead, he says,<br>"Yeah sure! I'll fight you, I've been waiting for this moment all my life!"  
>Okay, so is it my job to stop them now? Because even though they shouldn't fight, I'd love to see the progress they're making. So uh... let's give them like five to ten minutes of fighting, then I'll stop them. Or maybe when they get too rough. Whichever comes first. Sakura starts saying,<br>"No don't fight!"  
>But both of them ignores her. It's funny that even Naruto ignores her. Haha... then she looks at me pleadingly and says,<br>"Takara, please. Stop them!"  
>"Huh... it's funny how the only time you talk to me is when you ask me to do something for you or if you want to yell at me to stay away from Sasuke... besides, watching them would be fun. I want to see their progress." I say.<br>"What?! I thought you'd be the logical one here!" Sakura screams.  
>I shrug and follow Sasuke and Naruto as they go up the stairs to the hospital rooftop. Once we get to the top, I lean against the wall and watch them. Naruto sees me and says,<br>"Takara, be the judge of our fight!"  
>I shrug and say,"Sure I guess..."<br>"Naruto, she doesn't need to judge us. We all know who's gonna win." Sasuke says.  
>"Oh yeah?" Naruto growls.<br>"Definitely." Sasuke says.  
>"We'll see about that!" Naruto says and that when the fight begins.<br>They circle around each other, making snide comments and remarks first. I just sit and watch them boringly because there's no point in this. You argue, you fight, so what? There are always people stronger than you. You don't just fight each other, you go explore the world and learn and gain experience from the professionals! I would like to do that someday. When they actually start fighting, I have to watch what they do to make sure they don't kill each other. When have I become their moms?! So Sasuke did his usual techniques, fireball jutsu, start throwing kunais, and now charging an ultimate chidori... WAIT. Ultimate chidori?! And Naruto's... oh god. Now I have to step in. Right as I stand up, they leap towards each other and I'm about to run up and cut the move between them, but stupid Sakura just runs in front of them! What the fuck she's blocking me, and I can't stop them! Just then, Kakashi appears out of nowhere and pushes those two into opposite directions and they both ram into those water conserves on the side. Sakura starts sobbing with relief, and I am just pretty pissed off. If Kakashi wasn't here, I would've shouted at Sakura for blocking my way. She couldn't do anything, and she just blocks my way! Kakashi looks from Naruto to Sasuke, and then shouts,  
>"What in the world were you two thinking?! Were you actually trying to kill each other?!"<br>Sasuke just looks away with a frustrated face, and Naruto just pouts. Then, Kakashi turns to me and scolds,  
>"And Takara, I thought you of all people would be the most mature and stop them! You're definitely capable of stopping them!"<br>"Well they wanted to fight to see their progress. So did I! And I was about to stop them right when they did something so ultimate like that, and I was about to when Sakura got in the way, but you showed up!" I reply.  
>"You shouldn't have been watching in the first place! I thought you would know that Sasuke and Naruto always go to the extremes." Kakashi says.<br>I sigh and say,"Whatever... I can get things back in place."  
>I go over around the back of the water conserve where Sasuke is. He's sitting on the edge and he glares at me when he sees me.<br>"I hate this... I hate being weak." Sasuke says.  
>"Who doesn't hate that? Seriously... I know how you feel, but you have to calm down." I say.<br>"Hmph, I don't need your help, Takara." Sasuke says, then jumps off the roof.  
>I sigh and mutter,"Stubborn bitch..."<br>I go around back and go to where Naruto is. He looks at me and says,  
>"Hey Takara, I'm sorry for what happened... you're not gonna yell at me like Kakashi did right?"<br>I give a small smile and say,"Nah, he yelled at me for letting you guys fight. But you have improved a lot Naruto. I just wanted to warn you about Sasuke. He's on the verge of a... what shall I call it... revenge rampage. I think all uchihas go through it at least twice. Just try not to anger him too much, or show off your skills. Just stay away from him for now. I'm going to do what I can to try to calm him and stray him away from it, but I can't promise that I will succeed."  
>"How do you know? Did you ever go through it before?" Naruto asks.<br>"Once... when I just turned eight a month before and my brother got killed."  
>"How did you manage to stay..."<br>"Someone older and more experienced stabilized me and managed to calm me... and told me what to do."  
>"So are you... getting vengeance too?"<br>"Oh yeah, definitely. But not yet... I'm not experienced enough."  
>"So that means you can stabilize Sasuke right? You're pretty experienced."<br>"No, I'm not experienced enough. Look, I'll do what I can to stabilize him, but I can't guarantee that I'll succeed like I've said before. What you can do, is just stay away from him, and if he talks to you, be humble. Got that?"  
>I turn and get ready to jump off, but Naruto says,<br>"Hold on, Takara. I need to ask you one more thing."  
>I turn and raise an eyebrow.<br>"Do you... do you think of us as your friends?" Naruto asks.  
>I smile and answer,"You and Sasuke, yes. I always did ever since the start of the chunnin exams. I just never said it. I'm not a person who expresses things through words. Sakura, no. It's just that I can feel that I can never be friends with her. Maybe we can just be neutral to each other, but not exactly friends. Although, I did think of all you as losers from the beginning. Back then, I rather be alone like I always had been. But... I realized that people having your back and fighting with you and not against you is not such a bad thing. Does this answer your question?"<br>Naruto flashes his bright grin at me and says,"Yep! Thank you... coming from you, that seems like a blessing. You just expressed your feelings that you never express right?"  
>I laugh and say,"When you find something out like that about someone, you shouldn't say it out loud. It might cause them to not like you for being so stupid."<br>"Oh... I-I'm sorry..." Naruto says.  
>I roll my eyes, then jump off the roof to look for Sasuke. My first instinct is to go to his house. When I arrive, his place is a mess. Books were thrown everywhere, glass shattered all over the place, and as I walk further into the house, I see Sasuke holding his head in the corner. I sigh and say,<br>"Sasuke... you don't have to get so worked up over this..."  
>"You don't get it Takara. Your parents were never killed by your brother, and you didn't see your parents dead in their room and your brother standing right before them with a knife! You never wanted revenge! So don't talk to me about this!" Sasuke shouts.<br>"You're saying that _I _didn't see my parents dead? You're saying that _I _never wanted revenge?! You son of a bitch, I want revenge more than anything! I just don't know who killed my brother, and have you forgotten that I'm an uchiha as well?! You just think about yourself and revenge. You never think about how other people have difficult lives too, so don't think you're the only one. You know what? Forget this. I won't give a damn about you anymore. Sulk all you want, throw books and break glass all you want, I won't care." I shout and stomp on some already broken glass as I walk out the door.  
>Who the fuck does he think he is? I never realized how selfish he is until now. He doesn't think about other people, or how their lives might even be tougher than his. He just thinks that he has the saddest life there ever is. Well no, he doesn't. Does he know what I've been through? How my eyes got transplanted at the age of eight?! How hard it was to control the power that was bestowed upon me at a very young age? I endured more pain than him so far. Physically, and mentally. Itachi, I'm sorry but I can't work with your brother anymore. He's being an absolute bitch. Naruto is a far better person than Sasuke. In fact, I'm thinking I should hang out with him more. Maybe ignoring people isn't the best thing to do, so I'll see what happens when I don't ignore people. Lately, I've been giving Sasuke too much attention. It's time for him to know exactly how it feels to be ignored. Maybe he'll still have fangirls chasing after him, but certainly not me. He's not getting anything from me anymore. <p>


End file.
